Met some really cool people today at NCVelo . Joe was definitely among them and may even train on the track machine with me.
Can't thank Caroline and James enough for the courage to introduce para-cycling and what the BVI tandem is all about.

Two incredible people and tandem drivers who have invested so much in the the growth of the para-cycling and para-triathlon movement and to the lives of blind and visually-impaired athletes like myself. today was such a wonderful day on and off the bike spent with great people.

My wife and I live about 30miles from James and Caroline. she drove the 60miles roundtrip to meet with us after our training ride, just so I could ride a bicycle with James Spencer. I couldn't defeat Stargardts disease without amazing friends and family. thank you to all three of you for such a positive experience.

3 friends, two bikes and 1 very important mission!

Met some really great people today at NC VELO in charlotte, Nc with James Spencer and caroline Gainer. such a wonderful day!

Training ride with James spencer and caroline gainer. this was our first ride, James and I and I can't thank James enough for driving tandem with me today. For only our first ride James drove a solid ride today with no hitch at all. He is such an invaluable resource to the blind and visually-impaired community, as well as Caroline gainer who will compete in an upcoming international competition as a Guide in the Para-triathlon division with another visually-impaired athlete.

Training ride with James and caroline today with NC vELO out of charlotte Nc
For our first training ride on the tandem James drove a really solid ride with not a single hitch.

These incredible people make the impossible possible.

The Independence Fund

El Tour de Tucson Day 1:
Saguaro National Park tune-up ride with teammate John Jose

El Tour de Tucson Trip
Day 1: Windy Point on Mt Lemmon
Teammate: John Jose

El Tour de Tucson
Day 2 Saguaro National Park tune-up ride
don't have cactus in North Carolina
Teammate: John Jose

El Tour de Tucson
Day 3 departing the dry riverbed
Teammate: John Jose

El Tour de Tucson
Day 3 departing the dry riverbed
Teammate: John Jose

El Tour de Tucson
Day 3 exiting dry riverbed heading to resupply point with Lynn
Teammate: John Jose

El Tour de Tucson
The finish 106miles brutal
Teammate: John Jose

El Tour de Tucson
Day 3 Post ride man hug 106miles
Teammate John Jose

El Tour de Tucson
Day 3 Todd Key muscling through the dry riverbed
The man's a beast!

John Jose and I navigating our way through the dry riverbed during El Tour.
We shouldered the tandem for much of it and got it done!
We didn't let a visual impairment stop us. I followed my teammate through the dust and we continued on our way on the other side.

El Tour de tucson 2016

2016 El Tour de Tucson
Teammate John Jose and I doing a bit of tandem CX during the 106mile El tour.
No matter a visual impairment, I followed my teammate through the dust and we emerged on the other side to continue on our way.

106mile route

106mile route

2016 Que Sheet

Calfee Road Tandem made possible by the Independence Fund
Thank you to Podium MultiSport-NC for helping with assembly of the bike.

Calfee Road Tandem made possible by the Independence Fund
Thank you to Bob Johnson at Podium MultiSport for helping with assembly of the bike.

The Independence Fund
Thank you to Podium MultiSport-NC for helping with assembly of the bike.

The Independence Fund

The Independence Fund

The Independence Fund
Thank you to Bob Johnson at Podium MultiSport-NC for helping with assembly of the new Calfee Road Tandem made possible by the Independence Fund

Thank you Independence Fund

The Independence Fund

The Independence Fund

First R5-PARA Racing training ride on the new Carbon Calfee Road Racing tandem today, made possible by Laurent, owner at Streamline Agency, and also great friend of R5-PARA Racing and the Podium MultiSport-NC family. Laurent had never driven tandem before and he took to it like a pro, navigating some rather technical "slow roll" traffic situations but most importantly, Laurent and I took the road machine for it's first training ride, we worked together like a well-oiled machine, shared several laughs along the way and defeated vision loss all inside about 50miles. Each and every time the experience is as positive, it's a victory. Thank you to Streamline agency, Podium MultiSport-NC and Laurent for keeping the Paralympic dream alive.
Most importantly, thank you to The Independence fund for making such an amazing machine possible, as it serves as a mechanism for defeating eye disease, vision loss and disability.

A very close simulation of what it's like looking through the eyes of a person with Stargardt's Disease. Cant' let a visual impairment deter us however from achieving the highest possible level of wellness and also achieving our training objectives that makes us ready come race day. also, a blind and visually-impaired bike racer does the bulk of his or her training using a stationary standard bicycle or indoor stationary bike so that we are prepared when the opportunity comes that we can train outside on the tandem bicycle, with our fully-sighted teammate.

A photo taken from behind the eye of a person with stargardt's Disease. I have seen similar pictures of my own eyes. Can't let this block the training objectives or block achieving the highest possible level of wellness. Just keep fighting!

R5-PARA Racing and The Agency Man (Streamline Agency)
It's always great to get outside on the tandem. Thank you to LP for a great day on the bike!

R5-PARA Racing and The Agency Man (Streamline Agency)
Big thanks to LP for driving tandem with me yesterday.
As a visually-impaired bike racer, I do the bulk of my training inside so it was great to get outside yesterday on the tandem.
LP drove 2hrs roundtrip through the LKN i77 blackhole just to drive tandem with a visually-impaired dude like myself.
Incredible people!!

R5-PARA Racing and Streamline Agency

It's always great to get outside for a training ride!
Thank you to LP and Streamline agency for making it possible.

Since a track bicycle has a fixed-gear, direct-drive, design drivetrain each tandem team typically will reference a gear chart to determine which gear ratio best suits their training or racing objective. The "chainring" is in the front of the drivetrain and the "cog" is in the rear of the drivetrain. On the gear chart, the chainrings run vertical and the cogs run horizontal

The R5-PARA Racing training camp begins. Here in Tucson, AZ training with my teammate Stephen Pedone in preparation for the 2017 season with our first stop in Carson, CA for the U.S. Paralympics Track Cycling Open as we compete for the privilege to represent Team USA at the 2017 Para-Cycling Track World Championships in Carson, CA Jan 28-29.
All the equipment arrived with no damage.
Big thanks to Stephen for racing with me and to Ben and stephen both for letting me live with them so Stephen and I can train and sharpen our skills on the tandem.

Everything came out of the case with no damage, which is always a good thing:)
A very sincere thank you to The Independence Fund for the Carbon Calfee Road Racing tandem.
I am excited to be here in Tucson, AZ with my new teammate stephen Pedone for the R5-PARA Racing training camp in preparation for the 2017 U.S. Paralympics Track Cycling Open Jan 28-29 in Carson, cA at the VELO Sports Center as we all compete for the privilege to represent Team USA March 2-5 at the UCI Para-Cycling Track World Championships in Carson, cA.
The Track tandem arrives today but stephen and I will also do much of our training on the road machine.

A privilege to roll my first Shootout with teammate Stephen Pedone, here in Tucson, AZ at the R5-PARA Racing training camp. In preparation for the 2017 U.S. Paralympics Track Cycling Open Jan 28-29 as we compete for the privilege to represent Team USA at UCI Para-Cycling Track World Championships March 2-5 at the VELO Sports Center in Carson, CA.
The Shootout was one of the hardest training rides I've done and with a mixture of professional cyclists, Triathletes, and Collegiate riders, it was a great first test for stephen and I on the tandem. In only our third ride we rode well together and it was an awesome privilege as a visually-impaired athlete to hammer down with such a high caliber group of cyclists.

The track tandem arrived here in Tucson with no damage:) All systems are a go, on the ground here in aZ for the R5-PARA Racing training camp in preparation for the 2017 U.S. Paralympics Track Cycling Open Jan 28-29 in Carson, cA at the VELO sports Center

Day 1 at the VELO Sports Center with my R5-PARA racing teammate, Stephen Pedone. In preparation for the 2017 U.S. Paralympics Track Cycling Open Jan 28-29 a 2017 UcI Para-Cycling Track World's selection event.
Our first day was challenging, as we sorted through several mechanical issues but Stephen and I negotiated the stress well together and successfully executed our training objective.

Big thanks to everyone at RBar Energy (Tucson, AZ) for supplying Stephen and I with RBar nutrition for the R5-PARA Racing training camp, in preparation for the 2017 U.S. Paralympics Track Cycling Open Jan 28-29. A 2017 UCI Para-Cycling Track World's selection event. Today was day 1 at the VELO Sports Center for Stephen and I and it was a very challenging day, as we initially sorted through our gear selection and bike position. It was great to have the RBar Nutrition with us today at the vELO sports Center so we could successfully achieve our training objective.
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Only a few more training efforts for Stephen and I before we head to Carson, CA on Thursday in preparation for the U.S. Paralympics Track Cycling Open, a UCI Para-Cycling track World selection event. Stephen and I have put in some quality training efforts here in tucson and we are excited about the race. we will compete in the 4k individual pursuit and the 1k time-trial. Stephen and I are a new team for 2017 so we have reasonable expectations leading into the event and just want to have a strong ride on the track at the VELO Sports Center. I can't thank stephen enough for dedicating his time to training and racing with me. No matter the outcome, we fight eye disease, vision loss, and disability while also fighting for a National Championship and the privilege to represent Team USA in March at Track Worlds.

Here in Tucson, AZ for the R5-PARA Racing training camp with teammate Stephen Pedone. Stephen and I had the privilege to have Dave Swanson coach us through a standing start training session here in Tucson. if you can't access a velodrome then taking the track machine out to a empty section of road is the next best thing. it was a great opportunity for Stephen and I to practice starts, which is the most technical component of our two events on the track next weekend at the VELO Sports Center in Carson, cA as we compete for a National Championship and also the privilege to represent Team USa at UCI Track Worlds in March.

The Velo|Vets cycling equipment, all received via donations from people from the Tucson community. The VELO|Vets volunteers meet every Tuesday night at the VA BRC (Blind Rehab Center) and drive tandem bicycles with the blind and visually-impaired Veterans who are participating in the blind rehab program at the Tucson BRC. it truly is amazing what these volunteers do and I can personally attest to how beneficial training on a tandem bicycle can be in the way of building a healthy lifestyle despite vision loss or disable its.

VELO|Vets cycling equipment loaded and ready for a training session at the VA BRC (Blind Rehab Center) in Tucson, AZ Fully-sighted volunteers meet every Tuesday at the tucson VA BRc and drive tandems with blind and visually-impaired Veterans, all the while, fighting vision loss and disability. Building a healthy lifestyle, one pedal stroke at a time!

The van is loaded and ready for our trip to Carson, CA and the VELO sports Center in preparation for the 2017 U.S. Paralympics Track Cycling Open, a 2017 Para-Cycling Track World Championships selection event. My teammate, Stephne Pedone, and I could not thank Dave Swanson enough for all the mission support! To race a tandem bicycle with a visually-impaired teammate, it truly takes a lot of team work.

Saw this sunset while traveling through Phoenix on our way to Carson, CA bound for the VELO Sports Center. Although I am visually-impaired and can't operate a motor vehicle or race a standard bicycle we can't let that stop us. My teammate, Stephne and great friend Dave Swanson and I made the drive from Tucson to Carson to defeat eye disease, race bikes and live life and along the way, captured this beautiful sunset and moment in time along an amazing journey. Makes me thankful for the remaining vision I do have.

We arrived at the VELO sports Center with no issues. Dave and stephen giving it a go on the tandem. Driver Driver!

The track machine is ready for battle. R5-PARA Racing couldn't thank Radial Sports and fFWD wheels enough for the front and rear FFWD track disc. I haven't found too many wheel companies out there who support their wheels for tandem use but FFWD is one of them.

My teammate, Stephen Pedone, and I before our 4k Individual Pursuit at the 2017 U.S. Paralympics Track Cycling Open at the VELO Sports Center
Big thanks to BSG Apparel for such a Professional grade speed Suit and the R5-PARA Racing team uniform. Honestly, I have never raced in a speed suit of such high quality. I particularly like the Silver level fabric quality with exceptionally strong stitching. Also, the sleeve length is perfect so that the sleeves don't slide up when the rider is on the bike in race position. I also like the thumb hole at the sleeve's end. I also really like the leg gripper design which stays in place really well and the front zipper design makes it easy to remove your speed Suit in the event you need to use the rest room one last time before your race. The low collar is another feature I like in a Speed suit.

My R5-PARA Racing teammate, Stephen Pedone, and I could not thank Dave swanson enough for all the coaching, wrenching, and overall mission support last weekend during the 2017 U.S. Paralympics Track cycling Open. Dave raced in the U.S. Paralympic Cycling Division for nearly 10seasons with his teammate Clark across multiple UCI road and Track world Championships, World Cups and National Championships. Dave is a world champion and multiple National Champion as a tandem driver and so stephen and I were privileged to have him as a part of the R5-Para Racing team this past weekend. We hope to see Dave take on a more significant role on the Paralympic Cycling National team program. Stephen and I owe much to Dave for our success this past weekend.

My R5-PARA Racing teammate, Stephen Pedone, and I after our 4k Individual Pursuit at the 2017 U.s. Paralympics Track Cycling Open in Carson, ca at the VELO Sports Center. we won a National Championship in the 4k Individual Pursuit

Thank you to my R5-PARA Racing teammate, Stephen Pedone, for executing a great 4k Individual Pursuit at the 2017 U.S. Paralympics Track Cycling Open with me over the weekend as we earned a National Championship. For stephen and I, it was only our 4th time on the track so we are very excited about the progress we hope to make in the coming months as we prepare for the 2017 season.

Silver medal in the 1k time-trial for my R5-PARA Racing teammate, Stephen Pedone, and I during the 2017 U.s. Paralympics Track Cycling Open. Nice ride by the Gold Medal team of Tanner and Jack. They are a strong KILO team and it was great to see them have a solid ride and win the National title in the KILO. Nice work Gentlemen.

My R5-PARA Racing teammate, stephen Pedone, and I during warmup at the 2017 U.S. Paralympics Track Cycling Open in at the VELO Sports Center.
Big thanks to BSG Custom Apparel for such a Professional grade Speed Suit and to the Independence Fund for the Calfee Road tandem that stephen and I will do battle on later this season once we transition into road season. The calf was instrumental to our training here in Tucson leading up to the track event in Carson.

John, a member of the Tandem Driver Corps and strong supporter of the R5-PARA Racing mission, wearing the 2017R5-PARA colors by BSG Custom Apparel.

Gates Pass climb with teammate, Stephen Pedone. None need be spoken.

Laurent "The agency Man" , owner at Streamline Agency and strong supporter of the R5-PARA Racing mission. Laurent is also a member of the Tandem Driver Corps.

The Agency Man, Laurent, and I at the Rock Hill Road Course turning hot laps in preparation for the 2017 R5-PARA Racing Spring Training camp

LP and I turning Hot Laps at the Rock Hill Road Course in preparation for the 2017 r5-PARA Racing Spring Training Camp.

Streamline Agency and R5-PARA Racing working together at the Rock Hill Road Course, turning hot laps in preparation for the 2017 R5-PARA Racing Spring Training camp.

Joseph Matta and I training at the Memorial Park CRIT course in Houston, TX. This is only our second ride together and already sprinting out of the saddle. Joseph is a legit tandem driver

Joseph Matta and I preparing for a 50mile training ride out of Chapel Hill, TX.

2017 Houston, TX training ride with Joseph Matta. Our tune-up ride making sure the tandem is ready for Hot Laps on the cRIT course at Memorial Park in Houston, TX. Big thanks to Joseph for dedicating his time to training on the tandem with me.

2017 Assault on Morrow MTN with Joseph Matta.

The Agency Man, Streamline Agency, hammering laps with Joseph Matta and I at the Rock Hill Road Course

Nice Save by Joseph Matta

R5-PARA Racing with Joseph Matta at the helm hammering out a 10 mile time-trial with the Rock Hill Bicycle Club

The 2017 R5-PARA Racing Spring Training Camp wit Joseph Matta. The last day of our camp we hammered out a 10mile time-trial with the Rock Hill Bicycle Club.

The 2017 R5-PARA Racing Spring training Camp with Joseph Matta.

The 2017 R5-PARA Racing Spring Training Camp with Joseph Matta.

The 2017 R5-PARA Racing Spring Training Camp finished up with a 10 mile time-trial in Rock Hill with the Rock Hill Bicycle Club.

The 2017 R5-PARA Racing Spring Training Camp with Joseph Matta finished up with a 10mile road time-trial with the Rock Hill Bicycle Club and a 4k Individual Pursuit followed by 1k Time-trial at the Giordana Velodrome. Joseph and I had absolutely nothing left at the day's end.

During the R5-PARA Racing Spring Training Camp with Joseph Matta, it was great to meet with Dana Dre from the Department of Veteran's Affairs, Blake Center from Rock Hill Parks and rec as well as Streamline Agency to discuss ideas about building a Para-Cycling training program at the Rock Hill Road Course. Really excited to see what we can do.

U.S. Paralympic Cycling

R5-PARA Racing

Received my first order, R5-PARA Racing polo shirt by OwnWay Custom Apparel. I had the privilege and honor to wear it yesterday when traveling form Charlotte to Tucson. I am here in Tucson training with my teammate, Stephen Pedone-AZ in preparation for 2017 Para-Cycling Road National Championships in Grand Junction, CO. April 28/29. it is such a privilege to wear the R5-PARA Racing apparel which includes the VELO|Vets logo on the back panel of the shirt. Both R5-PARA Racing and VELO|Vets have a shared mission and a shared fight. VELO|Vets is a nonprofit organization located here in Tucson which serves blind and visually-impaired military veterans at the local VA hospital. The VV volunteers meet each Tuesday night and lead a training ride on tandem bicycles with many of the blind and visually-impaired veterans who are participating in the vA blind rehabilitation program. I can personally attest to the overwhelming benefit that riding a bicycle has had in my life as a healthy copping mechanism in the fight against Stargardts disease, vision loss and disability.

It's a privilege and honor to represent R5-PARA Racing and VELO|Vets with my first edition Custom Polo by BSG Custom Apparel I'm in route to a 2017 Para-Cycling Road National Championships preparation camp in Tucson, AZ with my teammate Stephen Pedone.

Stephen and I stopped at La Buzz this morning before we started our Mt Lemmon climb in Tucson, AZ. if you are a cyclist and you come to Tucson, you have to visit La Buzz at least once.

Stephen and I climbed Mt Lemmon today up to Windy Point, the half way point on the Mt Lemmon Climb. It was our first time climbing that far on Mt Lemmon together on the road machine. Stephen has climbed Mt Lemmon many times so the insanely fast descent was business as usual for him. The only difference today was, a 180lb dude on the back of a longer bicycle:)

I hate that Stephen and I could not find someone to take the photo for us to get the full visual effect that it required two of us to climb the road machine up to over 5k feet to Windy Point, about the half way point on the Mt Lemmon climb. During our climb up to windy Point, our coach had an interval set for us so we knocked that down and then kept the pedals turning a bit longer for bonus miles. Along the climb, I think I actually let out a battle cry of sorts because as a bike racer with a visual impairment who does the bulk of my training in the GTI (Garage Training Institute) back home, I get like a unleaded animal today who is so often caged. I gave Stephen a friendly jab to the kidney as a way to thank him for driving the road machine with a BVI dude like myself. Stephen could very well have been racing the UCI Tour of the Gila this week over in New Mexico but instead, he is racing with R5-PARA Racing as we pursue our goal of the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games. I can't skip over the descent though, back down Mt Lemmon. I have a genetic eye disease known as stargardts Disease that causes a loss of central vision so there is no way I could descend a bicycle the way we did today on the tandem. I can't thank The Independence Fund enough for providing such amazing mission support with the Calfee road tandem. Today we hit a top speed of 51mph and averaged 40mph for 20min as we descended back down the mountain. It was so awesome to hit the turns at speed, lean the bike and follow my teammate down the the mountain. All those days of sitting in the GTI, suffering through my workouts alone while watching Pro Cycling on YouTube, all that becomes worth it in just one ride outside on the tandem Also, today while climbing I heard Giuliana from VELO|Vets screen my name while she was on her descent going the other direction We caught up with her at the bottom and it was great to see the VELO|Vets uniform in action on the bike. Just an amazing day made possible by Stephen Pedone and Giuliana. Today we took to the mountain on the road machine and achieved our training objectives and kick stargardts in the face! Rule#1 There can be no victory, if you quit!

It requires a lot of work getting the road machine from point A to B bt the mission isn't always easy but the end result is worth it.

The 2017 R5-PARA Racing Custom Apparel by OwnWay Apparel-boulder, CO.

R5-PARA Racing with Stephen Pedone at the helm for the
Arizona City Cotton Classic 40k Time-trial
What a challenging morning in deed. Stephen and I have been training pretty solid now for the last 4days or so in preparation for 2017 Para-Cycling Road National Championships next weekend in Grand Junction, CO.
This morning headed over to Arizona City, a very small town between Tucson and Phoenix, for the Arizona City Cotton Classic 20k and 40k time-trial.
In just about every domain of life things don't always go the way you plan and this morning was no exception.
Stephen and I registered for the 20k and 40k as well, planning to use the 20k as a warmup for the 40k effort. As we were heading over to the start line we noticed our disc was flat so we had to switch wheels. Fortunately, we had a spare wheel to race on.
An unexpected event like this can really test a tandem team but stephen and I managed the stress well, switched the wheels out and headed back to the start line.
Unfortunately, we missed our opportunity for a proper warmup so we left the start line for the outbound leg of our 40k time-trial.

R5-PARA Racing with Stephen Pedone at the helm for the
2017 Arizona City Cotton Classic 40k TT
--cont'd--
The previous night, Stephen and I hauled the road machine over to see James Webster at Re-Cycle Tucson, Bike Shop, for a bike fit. James setup a proper time-trial position in the stoker cockpit and also transferred Stephen's TT position from his solo Tt bike over to the tandem.
Stephen and I noticed, last month at UCI Para-Cycling Track World Championship , that many of the top stokers across the UCI stage have adapted some variation of a proper Tt position and so James went to work.
Today was my first TT in the new position but I really like it. It definitley feels more aero and the feedback we received was that it looks more aero as well, as compared to my old position of traditional drop bars.
the 40k was by far the longest Tt I've done in a while but overall, the new position was great and I never felt like I couldn't make power.
For Stephen and I, the 40k was a great test run in preparation for Road Nationals next weekend.
It was also great to see several great friends out racing bikes today. VELO|Vets had a strong contingent of racers today.
The after action review here is this--At times, plans don't always unfold the way you expect and so it's the way you choose to manage the setback that defines the day. Today, my R5-PARA Racing teammate and I worked well together and made it form the start line to the finish line.

R5-PARA Racing with stephen Pedone at the helm
2017 Arizona City Cotton Classic

2017 Para-Cycling Road National Championships with teammate Stephen Pedone
R5-PARA Racing earned a silver medal in the road time-trial
I have been racing tandem since 2010 and I must admit the Grand Junction road and time-trial course and conditions were some of the most challenging I have encountered yet. I definitely underestimated the temperature when packing for my trip out west to Road Nationals. Stephen and I staged our training out of his home in Tucson in preparation for Road Nationals. It was very easy to leave the cold weather gear at home, considering the warm weather in Tucson.
Stephen and I adapted to the temperature however and took to the start line on Friday for our outbound leg of the road time-trial course.
it was only our second road time-trial together and my second time-trial in my newly adapted TT position and both Stephen and I were very pleased with the results.
Thank you to James Webster at re-Cycle Tucson for developing the TT position.
Although the very strong team of Paul Thomas and Aaron Shades took the top spot, Stephen and I were very pleased with our performance and that we held them off and prevented a pass by Paul and Aaron.
Paul and Aaron are a very fast team and with them starting 60 seconds behind us we fought hard to keep them from passing us.
Congratulations to Paul and Aaron for their 1st place finish.

2017 Para-Cycling Road National Championships with my R5-PARA Racing teammate Stephen Pedone
Road Race Silver medal
I began racing in the U.S. Paralympic Cycling Division in 2017 and I must admit the Grand Junction road race and time-trial courses were by far the most challenging I have raced. The overall conditions made for a very tough weekend of racing.
The time-trial course had several challenging climbs and the wind was most certainly a factor. Stephen and I fought hard though to pace ourselves well and not blow up.
With the very strong team of Paul and Aaron starting 60seconds behind us we did not want them to pass us. We hammered the outbound leg and when we hit the turnaround Stephen communicated to me that he could see the team of aaron and Paul approaching the turnaround as we exited to begin our inbound leg.
Although Paul and Aaron put-in time on us during the outbound leg, Stephen and I maintained our position and fought hard to prevent them from passing us.
Paul and Aaron still took the top spot that day and Stephen and I congratulate them on their National Championship in the road time-trial
Back to the road race course--
The road race course was by far the most difficult course I have raced. wThe duration and distance was approximately the same as seasons past but with over 4.3k feet of climbing across the 50mile race, the course definitely ripped our legs off.
Was it windy?
During the first lap, we all hammered down a relatively fast descent between 45-50mph and as stephen and I descended on the first lap the wind nearly swept our front wheel out from under us.
I have never used as much upper-body strength when racing a tandem as I did during our road race in grand Junction.
Although Stephen and I had nothing for Paul and Aaron that day, we still had to fight hard to fend off the team of Daniel and DJ. They gapped us during the second lap and Stephen and I had to fight hard down the fast backside descent to bridge up to them.
Stephen and I had the 58:11 spun out trying to bridge back to them and we caught them just as we started into the first big climb after the fast descent. As we approached, Stephen gave me the signal that we were about to attack Daniel and DJ on the climb to break away from them.
We did a standing acceleration and pulled away to powering on for a second place finish in the road race.
At the race's end I was absolutely destroyed. That road race course was by far the hardest I've raced yet bt stphen and I worked through it well to bring him ea silver medal.

2017 Para-Cycling Road National Championships
R5-PARA Racing with teammate stephen Pedone
R5-PARA Racing earned a silver medal in the Road time-trial and road race.
It was a privilege to race with Paul Thomas and aaron Shades , who took the top spot in both events this season at Para-Cycling Road Nationals.
Aaron and Paul are a strong team and we look forward to hopefully competing with them again in Keensburg, CO June 17 in the U.s. Paralympic Cycling Time-trial, a Para-cycling Road World Championship selection event.
A sincere thank you to my teammate, Stephen Pedone, for dedicating his time and energy into racing the tandem with me.

2017 Arizona City Cotton Classic 40k Time-trial
R5-PARA Racing with teammate Stephen Pedone and Velo|Vets
It was great to see a VELO|Vets contingent out today at the Cotton Classic TT.

So amazing to see the new trailer that was donated to VELO|Vets so now VV can more efficiently transport the cycling equipment used for training and racing.
The VELO|Vets volunteers train and race on tandem bicycles each week with blind and visually-impaired Veterans at the tucson, AZ VA blind rehabilitation center. I personally had the privilege to attend a training ride and also speak to a group of BVI Veterans (blind and or visually-impaired) during a recent training block with my teammate, Stephen Pedone.
I can't express enough the impact an activity like riding a bicycle can have in the life of a BVI person like myself and the Veteran's that Velo|Vets work with each week.
Thank you to all the volunteers and donors who work to make this possible.

Velo|Vets and R5-PARA Racing with teammate Stephen Pedone getting it done at the 2017 Arizona City Cotton Classic 40k and 20k Time-trial

It was such a privilege traveling to Grand Junction, CO for 2017 Para-Cycling Road National Championships with my teammate stephen Pedone and also the team of Griffin Pinkow and Brandon Russel. Pictured here, Griff and I are at Bike Outfitters in Gran Junction, CO. R5-PARA Racing and the Foreseeable Future foundation can't thank everyone enough, at Bicycle Outfitters for all the mission support while in grand Junction for Road Nationals. The mechanics worked very hard to get brandon and Griff's road tandem battle ready so they could drop the hammer in the time-trial and road race. We all want to sincerely thank the owner at Bicycle Outfitters for such wonderful hospitality.

RE-Cycle Tucson
Big thanks to James Webster for developing my new Stoker Tt position and for dialing-in the driver's position as well.

R5-PARA Racing joined by Paul Harold of EPT Racing.
Charlotte Motor Speedway Time-trial Series
Race#2 with Epoch Universal and streamline Agency
I write about this aspect of my training and racing a lot, that I am a visually-impaired bike racer. I have to write about that component though because just looking at a photo doesn't come close to telling the story or describing how much work it takes just getting to the start line.
I like to write about the journey though, primarily to thank so many people who make it all possible.
Both on the bike and off the bike, whether it's my fully-sighted teammate or the family and friends who provide mission support, I could never do this without all of you.
The photo doesn't tell the story though. It is the perfect snapshot of team getting the work done, racing a tandem and building and maintaining a healthy lifestyle, despite vision loss, eye disease and disability.
The photo doesn't capture it all.
On this day for example, my teammate for the event, Paul Harold, and his family drove from the south side of CLT bound for Charlotte Motor Speedway and the 10 mile Tt.
Earlier that morning, my wife drove my van with all my equipment including the tandem to work which is located in a central spot which makes it easy to meet Paul and his family.
So, later in the day I took an Uber from north of CLT and met Paul in the middle. His son, Taylor, then jumped in the van with me and away we went, bound for CMS to race a tandem bicycle.
after the race, my wife took an Uber from her work to the restaurant where R5-PARA Racing and EPT Racing joined for post ride food and drinks
All of this made that photo possible. It may seem easy but it has taken many seasons for me to develop a logistics plan that gets me to the start line or to any given training ride and without so many friends and family, it would not be possible.
I only wish to convey a message here that if life finds a way to gut punch you and put barriers in your way, just find a way to knock them down and adapt to your circumstances so you can still live life to the fullest.
there will be so many days that will most likely be the worst and very challenging and you will likely want to quit, shut the door on the training model, the racing and just give up.
You can't quit though, just keep fighting and work through the hard days and eventually, you will find yourself in the right moment when you get to take a photo like this one.
I can't thank Paul, Laurent and so many others for making this possible and keeping me in the fight.
R5-PARA racing and EPT Racing with Streamline Agency --->Rule#1 There can be no victory, if you quit!

2017 Tennessee Para-Cycling Open
20k time-trial
R5-PARA Racing teammate: Stephen Pedone
The 2017 TPO was a great weekend of racing and I can't thank enough my teammate, Stephen Pedone, for traveling from Tucson for the event.
As a visually-impaired bike racer, I do the bulk of my training in the GTI (garage training institute) when I am not outside on the tandem bicycle with my teammates with whom I train and race. So, to have an event like the TPO is pretty awesome and a great opportunity to gain crucial racing experience that my teammate and I can take to National level and International level events.
For the tandem category specifically, it is difficult to find, if not impossible, road racing and CRIT racing experience. Although in Para-Cycling at the National and International level we don't race CRITs, I think a CRIT still offers similar enough TSS, IF and overall race tactics and strategy that tandem race teams can use to sharpen their skills in preparation for the big National and International events.
For Stephen and I, we have the Tokyo 2020 selection event on our radar so each and every training ride and race we do between now and then is important.
--Continue reading in the next photo--

2017 Tennessee Para-Cycling Open
Teammate: Stephen Pedone
For Stephen and I, we approached the TPO with the same execution and strategy that we would a National Championship or even a World Cup or World Championship.
Our thought was, if we can't execute at a regional event then how will we execute our plan at a National or International event.
So, Saturday morning we left the start line outbound for our 20k time-trial and really focused on pacing, leg speed through the rollers and staying as aero as possible.
For me, one thing I didn't have to focus on was an eye disease that threatens my wellness each and every day.
When we are on the bike, Stargardts Disease isn't even a thought.
Our next major event this season is the 2017 U.S. Paralympic Time-trial in Keenesburg, CO June 17.
The June 17 Tt will serve as the selection event for 2017 UCI Para-Cycling Road Woeld Championships.
Stephen and I are training hard with hopes to represent Team USA in South Africa later this season at Road Worlds.
Also later this season on the UCI Para-Cycling calendar is Road World Cup #3 in the Netherlands.
R5-PARA Racing submitted a discretionary application for WC#3 so maybe, just maybe, we will have the opportunity to represent Team USA for the last WC this season before teams head to South Africa for Road Worlds.

2017 Tennessee Para-Cycling Open
Teammate: Stephen Pedone
Criterium
In Para-Cycling the tandem category which consists of the blind and visually-impaired stokers and their fully-sighted teammates or "Drivers" typically do not race CRITs in National Championship events or on the UCI international stage, although I would love to have such a race added to the calendar.
So, for the TPO to offer a tandem CRIT is really awesome. As a tandem race team, racing a CRIT, in my opinion, offers a great opportunity to develop extremely valuable cornering and overall handling skills that we might not otherwise have the opportunity to develop that we can then take to the National and International stages.
Often, the Stoker spends a ton of time inside on a stationary bike which doesn't give much opportunity for cornering the tandem, executing standing accelerations and communication methods between Driver and stoker.
The TPO is one of a kind in that it offers 3 Para-Cycling races across two days for all categories.
We all can not thank enough, Greg Miller, Karen Miller and all the volunteers who for 3 seasons now make the tennessee Para-Cycling Open a reality

2017 Tennessee Para-Cycling Open
Teammate: Stephen Pedone
Road Race
Although Stephen and I had a "Tech Failure" because I didn't properly mount the 360Fly camera during the Road race, we were both still satisfied with our overall effort as we worked hard to bridge back to the two lead tandems.
Pictured is Stephen and I racing in the 2016 edition, R5-PARA Racing team uniform.
We are excited to be working with Ownway Apparel for the 2017 R5-PARA Racing team uniform.
With 3 races in two days we just ran out of 2017 clothing:)

2017 Tennessee Para-Cycling Open
Teammate: Stephen Pedone
Mens' Tandem Road Race: Staging
It was such a privilege to race with the very strong teams of Bryant, Kevin, Fausto, and DJ for the 2017 TPO.
We all raced across 3 different disciplines in Time-Trial, Criterium and Road Race.

2017 Rock Hill Bicycle Club 10 mile Time-Trial Series
R5-PARA Racing and EPT Racing putting down the hammer in riding to a PR
I know I write about this component of vision loss a lot, the emotional and psychological impact but it truly is such a battle, managing the Psycho-Socio-Emotio effects of eye disease, vision loss and disability.
This is why I always try my best to express how thankful I am each and every time I get outside on the tandem and enjoy a sport I am so passionate about, cycling.
I can spend sometimes weeks in my garage training and having that one training ride or race outside is enough to keep the flame of passion lighted for bike racing.
So, when a truly amazing person like Paul and so many teammates I train and race with climb aboard the tandem, it has more impact than they may know.

The 2017 Para-Cycling Time-Trial UCI Road Worlds Championship Selection Event
R5-PARA Racing with Stephen Pedone at the helm.
Stephen and I hammered out a 33k time-trial today in Keenesburg, CO in an attempt to qualify for the 2017 UCI Road World's team.
Team USA will be announced early Thursday morning so Stephen and I are both excited to discover if we will have the privilege to represent our country later this season in South Africa.

During our warmup, Stephen and I discussed our strategy for how to ride the 33k time-trial we were about to tackle. We had a windy outbound leg so we attacked it with more power and after we hit the turnaround, we spun the gear as fast as possible, utilizing the tailwind and allowing it to push us home.
I was quite surprised however because the inbound mission, even with the tailwind, was still pretty hard and at about the 4k marker I was deep in the hurt locker but I heard stephen yelling "South Africa" as a reminder for what we were fighting.

at about the 4k marker, just beyond a little S-bend, that is when I began hearing stephen yelling "South Africa" since that is where World will take place in August. At this point during or 42min Tt I was coming apart and suffering deep into the hurt locker but I dug deeper than I have in a long while and I know Stephen did as well because once we crossed the finish line we were both wrecked.

This photo is especially telling because it is difficult to drive a tandem through a 180 degree turn so when Stephen and I approached the 180 I came out of the aerobars and prepared to maneuver the bike around the turn, stand, and accelerate the road machine back up to speed for the inbound mission.
I have a ton of respect for the tandem Drivers who have to turn such a long bike with two riders, through a 180 degree narrow turn, coming into the turn at approximately 30mph. An approximate speed but we definitely approached the turnaround with a lot of momentum that we had to slow and then accelerate back up to speed.

Accelerating the road machine back up to speed after the outbound mission.
We had a tailwind on the inbound mission so we knew we had to spin the gear as best we could and stay smooth on the pedals.
Stephen and I have to thank James Webster at Re-Cycle Tucson for working with us earlier this season and adapting a new aerobar position in the Stoker cockpit.
I had never ridden with a true set of aerobars until James took to the task of adapting my new position. Stephen and I both believe that position was crucial today in producing our 29.5mph AVG speed over 33k.
Unofficially, this places us 7th overall on the rankings list and puts us in a good spot for Team USA nomination but we will have to wait until Thursday to discover if a south Africa trip is in the future for Stephen and I in what could be our first Road World Championship event together.
No matter the outcome however, we keep fighting and enjoy the journey of racing bike, defeating vision loss, eye disease and disability.

Charlotte Motor Speedway Time-Trial series Race#3
R5-PARA Racing and EPT Racing in a shared mission and a shared fight against eye disease, vision loss and disability!
building and maintaining a healthy lifestyle despite difficult circumstances!

Great first training ride on the DuraTec today with Paul Harold from Epoch Performance Therapy Racing.
A very sincere thank you to Challenged Athletes Foundation for replacing my damaged and retired road frame, which saw an amazing amount of training and racing over the last 4 or 5 seasons.
Thanks to CAF and to Paul Harold for keeping blind and visually-impaired Military Veterans like myself, in the fight and successfully defeating Stargardts Disease, vision loss and disability through training and racing the tandem bicycle.

2017 Charlotte Motor speedway Team Time-trial 20 mile
R5-PARA Racing with Paul Harold at the helm.
What a fun night of racing with Paul and several other EPT Racing team members. With a visual impairment I could never hammer down the backstretch at over 35mph with bikes all around and do it within a reasonable amount of safety.
I can't thank Paul enough for driving the tandem with me so that we could hold the hammer a, race bikes and defeat Stargardts Disease, vision loss and disability.
And having a ton of fun along the way!

So awesome to see Jamie Crowell a totally blind cyclist compete in the charlotte Motor Speedway 10 Mile Time-trial presented by Start2finish-Charlotte.
Thanks to PARA~Guide for plotting a transit solution and providing transportation services to and from the event for both Jamie and I.
It's nights of racing bikes such as this that make winning the war on Stargardts Disease, vision loss and disability, a whole lot easier!

2017 CCA Reginal Track Champs preparation with PARA~Gide, Paul Harold and Shannon Houlihan at Giordana Velodrome
Always great to chat with Bob Nixon when at Giordana velodrome. Bob is the kindest person you will ever meet:)

Met some really cool people today at NCVelo . Joe was definitely among them and may even train on the track machine with me.
Can't thank Caroline and James enough for the courage to introduce para-cycling and what the BVI tandem is all about.

My wife and I live about 30miles from James and Caroline. she drove the 60miles roundtrip to meet with us after our training ride, just so I could ride a bicycle with James Spencer. I couldn't defeat Stargardts disease without amazing friends and family. thank you to all three of you for such a positive experience.

Training ride with James spencer and caroline gainer. this was our first ride, James and I and I can't thank James enough for driving tandem with me today. For only our first ride James drove a solid ride today with no hitch at all. He is such an invaluable resource to the blind and visually-impaired community, as well as Caroline gainer who will compete in an upcoming international competition as a Guide in the Para-triathlon division with another visually-impaired athlete.

These incredible people make the impossible possible.

El Tour de Tucson Trip
Day 1: Windy Point on Mt Lemmon
Teammate: John Jose

El Tour de Tucson
Day 3 departing the dry riverbed
Teammate: John Jose

El Tour de Tucson
Day 3 departing the dry riverbed
Teammate: John Jose

El Tour de Tucson
The finish 106miles brutal
Teammate: John Jose

El Tour de Tucson
Day 3 Todd Key muscling through the dry riverbed
The man's a beast!

El Tour de tucson 2016

106mile route

2016 Que Sheet

Calfee Road Tandem made possible by the Independence Fund
Thank you to Bob Johnson at Podium MultiSport for helping with assembly of the bike.

The Independence Fund

The Independence Fund
Thank you to Bob Johnson at Podium MultiSport-NC for helping with assembly of the new Calfee Road Tandem made possible by the Independence Fund

The Independence Fund

First R5-PARA Racing training ride on the new Carbon Calfee Road Racing tandem today, made possible by Laurent, owner at Streamline Agency, and also great friend of R5-PARA Racing and the Podium MultiSport-NC family. Laurent had never driven tandem before and he took to it like a pro, navigating some rather technical "slow roll" traffic situations but most importantly, Laurent and I took the road machine for it's first training ride, we worked together like a well-oiled machine, shared several laughs along the way and defeated vision loss all inside about 50miles. Each and every time the experience is as positive, it's a victory. Thank you to Streamline agency, Podium MultiSport-NC and Laurent for keeping the Paralympic dream alive.
Most importantly, thank you to The Independence fund for making such an amazing machine possible, as it serves as a mechanism for defeating eye disease, vision loss and disability.

A photo taken from behind the eye of a person with stargardt's Disease. I have seen similar pictures of my own eyes. Can't let this block the training objectives or block achieving the highest possible level of wellness. Just keep fighting!

R5-PARA Racing and The Agency Man (Streamline Agency)
Big thanks to LP for driving tandem with me yesterday.
As a visually-impaired bike racer, I do the bulk of my training inside so it was great to get outside yesterday on the tandem.
LP drove 2hrs roundtrip through the LKN i77 blackhole just to drive tandem with a visually-impaired dude like myself.
Incredible people!!

It's always great to get outside for a training ride!
Thank you to LP and Streamline agency for making it possible.

The R5-PARA Racing training camp begins. Here in Tucson, AZ training with my teammate Stephen Pedone in preparation for the 2017 season with our first stop in Carson, CA for the U.S. Paralympics Track Cycling Open as we compete for the privilege to represent Team USA at the 2017 Para-Cycling Track World Championships in Carson, CA Jan 28-29.
All the equipment arrived with no damage.
Big thanks to Stephen for racing with me and to Ben and stephen both for letting me live with them so Stephen and I can train and sharpen our skills on the tandem.

A privilege to roll my first Shootout with teammate Stephen Pedone, here in Tucson, AZ at the R5-PARA Racing training camp. In preparation for the 2017 U.S. Paralympics Track Cycling Open Jan 28-29 as we compete for the privilege to represent Team USA at UCI Para-Cycling Track World Championships March 2-5 at the VELO Sports Center in Carson, CA.
The Shootout was one of the hardest training rides I've done and with a mixture of professional cyclists, Triathletes, and Collegiate riders, it was a great first test for stephen and I on the tandem. In only our third ride we rode well together and it was an awesome privilege as a visually-impaired athlete to hammer down with such a high caliber group of cyclists.

Big thanks to everyone at RBar Energy (Tucson, AZ) for supplying Stephen and I with RBar nutrition for the R5-PARA Racing training camp, in preparation for the 2017 U.S. Paralympics Track Cycling Open Jan 28-29. A 2017 UCI Para-Cycling Track World's selection event. Today was day 1 at the VELO Sports Center for Stephen and I and it was a very challenging day, as we initially sorted through our gear selection and bike position. It was great to have the RBar Nutrition with us today at the vELO sports Center so we could successfully achieve our training objective.
Visit the RBar website and discover why RBar stands apart from the rest.
https://www.rbarenergy.com
Their mission:
We make RBars for people who aren't satisfied with following the crowd. The people who pursue the freedom of the outdoors, the wide open spaces of experience, and the adventure of travel. At RBar, we believe everyone has that spirit inside of them.

Here in Tucson, AZ for the R5-PARA Racing training camp with teammate Stephen Pedone. Stephen and I had the privilege to have Dave Swanson coach us through a standing start training session here in Tucson. if you can't access a velodrome then taking the track machine out to a empty section of road is the next best thing. it was a great opportunity for Stephen and I to practice starts, which is the most technical component of our two events on the track next weekend at the VELO Sports Center in Carson, cA as we compete for a National Championship and also the privilege to represent Team USa at UCI Track Worlds in March.

The Velo|Vets cycling equipment, all received via donations from people from the Tucson community. The VELO|Vets volunteers meet every Tuesday night at the VA BRC (Blind Rehab Center) and drive tandem bicycles with the blind and visually-impaired Veterans who are participating in the blind rehab program at the Tucson BRC. it truly is amazing what these volunteers do and I can personally attest to how beneficial training on a tandem bicycle can be in the way of building a healthy lifestyle despite vision loss or disable its.

The van is loaded and ready for our trip to Carson, CA and the VELO sports Center in preparation for the 2017 U.S. Paralympics Track Cycling Open, a 2017 Para-Cycling Track World Championships selection event. My teammate, Stephne Pedone, and I could not thank Dave Swanson enough for all the mission support! To race a tandem bicycle with a visually-impaired teammate, it truly takes a lot of team work.

The track machine is ready for battle. R5-PARA Racing couldn't thank Radial Sports and fFWD wheels enough for the front and rear FFWD track disc. I haven't found too many wheel companies out there who support their wheels for tandem use but FFWD is one of them.

My teammate, Stephen Pedone, and I before our 4k Individual Pursuit at the 2017 U.S. Paralympics Track Cycling Open at the VELO Sports Center
Big thanks to BSG Apparel for such a Professional grade speed Suit and the R5-PARA Racing team uniform. Honestly, I have never raced in a speed suit of such high quality. I particularly like the Silver level fabric quality with exceptionally strong stitching. Also, the sleeve length is perfect so that the sleeves don't slide up when the rider is on the bike in race position. I also like the thumb hole at the sleeve's end. I also really like the leg gripper design which stays in place really well and the front zipper design makes it easy to remove your speed Suit in the event you need to use the rest room one last time before your race. The low collar is another feature I like in a Speed suit.

My R5-PARA Racing teammate, Stephen Pedone, and I after our 4k Individual Pursuit at the 2017 U.s. Paralympics Track Cycling Open in Carson, ca at the VELO Sports Center. we won a National Championship in the 4k Individual Pursuit

Thank you to my R5-PARA Racing teammate, Stephen Pedone, for executing a great 4k Individual Pursuit at the 2017 U.S. Paralympics Track Cycling Open with me over the weekend as we earned a National Championship. For stephen and I, it was only our 4th time on the track so we are very excited about the progress we hope to make in the coming months as we prepare for the 2017 season.

My R5-PARA Racing teammate, stephen Pedone, and I during warmup at the 2017 U.S. Paralympics Track Cycling Open in at the VELO Sports Center.
Big thanks to BSG Custom Apparel for such a Professional grade Speed Suit and to the Independence Fund for the Calfee Road tandem that stephen and I will do battle on later this season once we transition into road season. The calf was instrumental to our training here in Tucson leading up to the track event in Carson.

John, a member of the Tandem Driver Corps and strong supporter of the R5-PARA Racing mission, wearing the 2017R5-PARA colors by BSG Custom Apparel.

Laurent "The agency Man" , owner at Streamline Agency and strong supporter of the R5-PARA Racing mission. Laurent is also a member of the Tandem Driver Corps.

Streamline Agency and R5-PARA Racing working together at the Rock Hill Road Course, turning hot laps in preparation for the 2017 R5-PARA Racing Spring Training camp.

Joseph Matta and I preparing for a 50mile training ride out of Chapel Hill, TX.

2017 Assault on Morrow MTN with Joseph Matta.

Nice Save by Joseph Matta

The 2017 R5-PARA Racing Spring Training Camp wit Joseph Matta. The last day of our camp we hammered out a 10mile time-trial with the Rock Hill Bicycle Club.

The 2017 R5-PARA Racing Spring Training Camp with Joseph Matta.

The 2017 R5-PARA Racing Spring Training Camp with Joseph Matta finished up with a 10mile road time-trial with the Rock Hill Bicycle Club and a 4k Individual Pursuit followed by 1k Time-trial at the Giordana Velodrome. Joseph and I had absolutely nothing left at the day's end.

During the R5-PARA Racing Spring Training Camp with Joseph Matta, it was great to meet with Dana Dre from the Department of Veteran's Affairs, Blake Center from Rock Hill Parks and rec as well as Streamline Agency to discuss ideas about building a Para-Cycling training program at the Rock Hill Road Course. Really excited to see what we can do.

U.S. Paralympic Cycling

Received my first order, R5-PARA Racing polo shirt by OwnWay Custom Apparel. I had the privilege and honor to wear it yesterday when traveling form Charlotte to Tucson. I am here in Tucson training with my teammate, Stephen Pedone-AZ in preparation for 2017 Para-Cycling Road National Championships in Grand Junction, CO. April 28/29. it is such a privilege to wear the R5-PARA Racing apparel which includes the VELO|Vets logo on the back panel of the shirt. Both R5-PARA Racing and VELO|Vets have a shared mission and a shared fight. VELO|Vets is a nonprofit organization located here in Tucson which serves blind and visually-impaired military veterans at the local VA hospital. The VV volunteers meet each Tuesday night and lead a training ride on tandem bicycles with many of the blind and visually-impaired veterans who are participating in the vA blind rehabilitation program. I can personally attest to the overwhelming benefit that riding a bicycle has had in my life as a healthy copping mechanism in the fight against Stargardts disease, vision loss and disability.

Stephen and I stopped at La Buzz this morning before we started our Mt Lemmon climb in Tucson, AZ. if you are a cyclist and you come to Tucson, you have to visit La Buzz at least once.

It requires a lot of work getting the road machine from point A to B bt the mission isn't always easy but the end result is worth it.

R5-PARA Racing with Stephen Pedone at the helm for the
Arizona City Cotton Classic 40k Time-trial
What a challenging morning in deed. Stephen and I have been training pretty solid now for the last 4days or so in preparation for 2017 Para-Cycling Road National Championships next weekend in Grand Junction, CO.
This morning headed over to Arizona City, a very small town between Tucson and Phoenix, for the Arizona City Cotton Classic 20k and 40k time-trial.
In just about every domain of life things don't always go the way you plan and this morning was no exception.
Stephen and I registered for the 20k and 40k as well, planning to use the 20k as a warmup for the 40k effort. As we were heading over to the start line we noticed our disc was flat so we had to switch wheels. Fortunately, we had a spare wheel to race on.
An unexpected event like this can really test a tandem team but stephen and I managed the stress well, switched the wheels out and headed back to the start line.
Unfortunately, we missed our opportunity for a proper warmup so we left the start line for the outbound leg of our 40k time-trial.

2017 Para-Cycling Road National Championships with my R5-PARA Racing teammate Stephen Pedone
Road Race Silver medal
I began racing in the U.S. Paralympic Cycling Division in 2017 and I must admit the Grand Junction road race and time-trial courses were by far the most challenging I have raced. The overall conditions made for a very tough weekend of racing.
The time-trial course had several challenging climbs and the wind was most certainly a factor. Stephen and I fought hard though to pace ourselves well and not blow up.
With the very strong team of Paul and Aaron starting 60seconds behind us we did not want them to pass us. We hammered the outbound leg and when we hit the turnaround Stephen communicated to me that he could see the team of aaron and Paul approaching the turnaround as we exited to begin our inbound leg.
Although Paul and Aaron put-in time on us during the outbound leg, Stephen and I maintained our position and fought hard to prevent them from passing us.
Paul and Aaron still took the top spot that day and Stephen and I congratulate them on their National Championship in the road time-trial
Back to the road race course--
The road race course was by far the most difficult course I have raced. wThe duration and distance was approximately the same as seasons past but with over 4.3k feet of climbing across the 50mile race, the course definitely ripped our legs off.
Was it windy?
During the first lap, we all hammered down a relatively fast descent between 45-50mph and as stephen and I descended on the first lap the wind nearly swept our front wheel out from under us.
I have never used as much upper-body strength when racing a tandem as I did during our road race in grand Junction.
Although Stephen and I had nothing for Paul and Aaron that day, we still had to fight hard to fend off the team of Daniel and DJ. They gapped us during the second lap and Stephen and I had to fight hard down the fast backside descent to bridge up to them.
Stephen and I had the 58:11 spun out trying to bridge back to them and we caught them just as we started into the first big climb after the fast descent. As we approached, Stephen gave me the signal that we were about to attack Daniel and DJ on the climb to break away from them.
We did a standing acceleration and pulled away to powering on for a second place finish in the road race.
At the race's end I was absolutely destroyed. That road race course was by far the hardest I've raced yet bt stphen and I worked through it well to bring him ea silver medal.

2017 Para-Cycling Road National Championships
R5-PARA Racing with teammate stephen Pedone
R5-PARA Racing earned a silver medal in the Road time-trial and road race.
It was a privilege to race with Paul Thomas and aaron Shades , who took the top spot in both events this season at Para-Cycling Road Nationals.
Aaron and Paul are a strong team and we look forward to hopefully competing with them again in Keensburg, CO June 17 in the U.s. Paralympic Cycling Time-trial, a Para-cycling Road World Championship selection event.
A sincere thank you to my teammate, Stephen Pedone, for dedicating his time and energy into racing the tandem with me.

So amazing to see the new trailer that was donated to VELO|Vets so now VV can more efficiently transport the cycling equipment used for training and racing.
The VELO|Vets volunteers train and race on tandem bicycles each week with blind and visually-impaired Veterans at the tucson, AZ VA blind rehabilitation center. I personally had the privilege to attend a training ride and also speak to a group of BVI Veterans (blind and or visually-impaired) during a recent training block with my teammate, Stephen Pedone.
I can't express enough the impact an activity like riding a bicycle can have in the life of a BVI person like myself and the Veteran's that Velo|Vets work with each week.
Thank you to all the volunteers and donors who work to make this possible.

It was such a privilege traveling to Grand Junction, CO for 2017 Para-Cycling Road National Championships with my teammate stephen Pedone and also the team of Griffin Pinkow and Brandon Russel. Pictured here, Griff and I are at Bike Outfitters in Gran Junction, CO. R5-PARA Racing and the Foreseeable Future foundation can't thank everyone enough, at Bicycle Outfitters for all the mission support while in grand Junction for Road Nationals. The mechanics worked very hard to get brandon and Griff's road tandem battle ready so they could drop the hammer in the time-trial and road race. We all want to sincerely thank the owner at Bicycle Outfitters for such wonderful hospitality.

2017 Tennessee Para-Cycling Open
20k time-trial
R5-PARA Racing teammate: Stephen Pedone
The 2017 TPO was a great weekend of racing and I can't thank enough my teammate, Stephen Pedone, for traveling from Tucson for the event.
As a visually-impaired bike racer, I do the bulk of my training in the GTI (garage training institute) when I am not outside on the tandem bicycle with my teammates with whom I train and race. So, to have an event like the TPO is pretty awesome and a great opportunity to gain crucial racing experience that my teammate and I can take to National level and International level events.
For the tandem category specifically, it is difficult to find, if not impossible, road racing and CRIT racing experience. Although in Para-Cycling at the National and International level we don't race CRITs, I think a CRIT still offers similar enough TSS, IF and overall race tactics and strategy that tandem race teams can use to sharpen their skills in preparation for the big National and International events.
For Stephen and I, we have the Tokyo 2020 selection event on our radar so each and every training ride and race we do between now and then is important.
--Continue reading in the next photo--

2017 Tennessee Para-Cycling Open
Teammate: Stephen Pedone
Criterium
In Para-Cycling the tandem category which consists of the blind and visually-impaired stokers and their fully-sighted teammates or "Drivers" typically do not race CRITs in National Championship events or on the UCI international stage, although I would love to have such a race added to the calendar.
So, for the TPO to offer a tandem CRIT is really awesome. As a tandem race team, racing a CRIT, in my opinion, offers a great opportunity to develop extremely valuable cornering and overall handling skills that we might not otherwise have the opportunity to develop that we can then take to the National and International stages.
Often, the Stoker spends a ton of time inside on a stationary bike which doesn't give much opportunity for cornering the tandem, executing standing accelerations and communication methods between Driver and stoker.
The TPO is one of a kind in that it offers 3 Para-Cycling races across two days for all categories.
We all can not thank enough, Greg Miller, Karen Miller and all the volunteers who for 3 seasons now make the tennessee Para-Cycling Open a reality

2017 Tennessee Para-Cycling Open
Teammate: Stephen Pedone
Mens' Tandem Road Race: Staging
It was such a privilege to race with the very strong teams of Bryant, Kevin, Fausto, and DJ for the 2017 TPO.
We all raced across 3 different disciplines in Time-Trial, Criterium and Road Race.

The 2017 Para-Cycling Time-Trial UCI Road Worlds Championship Selection Event
R5-PARA Racing with Stephen Pedone at the helm.
Stephen and I hammered out a 33k time-trial today in Keenesburg, CO in an attempt to qualify for the 2017 UCI Road World's team.
Team USA will be announced early Thursday morning so Stephen and I are both excited to discover if we will have the privilege to represent our country later this season in South Africa.

at about the 4k marker, just beyond a little S-bend, that is when I began hearing stephen yelling "South Africa" since that is where World will take place in August. At this point during or 42min Tt I was coming apart and suffering deep into the hurt locker but I dug deeper than I have in a long while and I know Stephen did as well because once we crossed the finish line we were both wrecked.

Accelerating the road machine back up to speed after the outbound mission.
We had a tailwind on the inbound mission so we knew we had to spin the gear as best we could and stay smooth on the pedals.
Stephen and I have to thank James Webster at Re-Cycle Tucson for working with us earlier this season and adapting a new aerobar position in the Stoker cockpit.
I had never ridden with a true set of aerobars until James took to the task of adapting my new position. Stephen and I both believe that position was crucial today in producing our 29.5mph AVG speed over 33k.
Unofficially, this places us 7th overall on the rankings list and puts us in a good spot for Team USA nomination but we will have to wait until Thursday to discover if a south Africa trip is in the future for Stephen and I in what could be our first Road World Championship event together.
No matter the outcome however, we keep fighting and enjoy the journey of racing bike, defeating vision loss, eye disease and disability.

Great first training ride on the DuraTec today with Paul Harold from Epoch Performance Therapy Racing.
A very sincere thank you to Challenged Athletes Foundation for replacing my damaged and retired road frame, which saw an amazing amount of training and racing over the last 4 or 5 seasons.
Thanks to CAF and to Paul Harold for keeping blind and visually-impaired Military Veterans like myself, in the fight and successfully defeating Stargardts Disease, vision loss and disability through training and racing the tandem bicycle.

2017 Charlotte Motor speedway Team Time-trial 20 mile
R5-PARA Racing with Paul Harold at the helm.
What a fun night of racing with Paul and several other EPT Racing team members. With a visual impairment I could never hammer down the backstretch at over 35mph with bikes all around and do it within a reasonable amount of safety.
I can't thank Paul enough for driving the tandem with me so that we could hold the hammer a, race bikes and defeat Stargardts Disease, vision loss and disability.
And having a ton of fun along the way!

2017 CCA Reginal Track Champs preparation with PARA~Gide, Paul Harold and Shannon Houlihan at Giordana Velodrome
Always great to chat with Bob Nixon when at Giordana velodrome. Bob is the kindest person you will ever meet:)

A wonderful group of friends and Tandem Drivers/Guides who support the Para-Cycling and Para-Triathlon movement.

2015 Tennessee Para-Cycling Open
Teammate: Reuben Howden

2016 Tennessee Para-Cycling Open
Teammate: Kyle Knott

2016 Tennessee Para-cycling Open
Teammate: Kyle Knott

2016 Tennessee Para-cycling Open
Teammate: Kyle Knott

2016 Tennessee Para-Cycling Open
Teammate: Kyle Knott

2016 USABA Tandem Cycling Race camp
Teammate: John Jose

2016 USABA Tandem cycling Race Camp
Teammate:) John Jose

Two incredible people and tandem drivers who have invested so much in the the growth of the para-cycling and para-triathlon movement and to the lives of blind and visually-impaired athletes like myself. today was such a wonderful day on and off the bike spent with great people.

3 friends, two bikes and 1 very important mission!

Met some really great people today at NC VELO in charlotte, Nc with James Spencer and caroline Gainer. such a wonderful day!

Training ride with James and caroline today with NC vELO out of charlotte Nc
For our first training ride on the tandem James drove a really solid ride with not a single hitch.

The Independence Fund

El Tour de Tucson Day 1:
Saguaro National Park tune-up ride with teammate John Jose

El Tour de Tucson
Day 2 Saguaro National Park tune-up ride
don't have cactus in North Carolina
Teammate: John Jose

El Tour de Tucson
Day 3 exiting dry riverbed heading to resupply point with Lynn
Teammate: John Jose

El Tour de Tucson
Day 3 Post ride man hug 106miles
Teammate John Jose

John Jose and I navigating our way through the dry riverbed during El Tour.
We shouldered the tandem for much of it and got it done!
We didn't let a visual impairment stop us. I followed my teammate through the dust and we continued on our way on the other side.

2016 El Tour de Tucson
Teammate John Jose and I doing a bit of tandem CX during the 106mile El tour.
No matter a visual impairment, I followed my teammate through the dust and we emerged on the other side to continue on our way.

106mile route

Calfee Road Tandem made possible by the Independence Fund
Thank you to Podium MultiSport-NC for helping with assembly of the bike.

The Independence Fund
Thank you to Podium MultiSport-NC for helping with assembly of the bike.

The Independence Fund

Thank you Independence Fund

The Independence Fund

A very close simulation of what it's like looking through the eyes of a person with Stargardt's Disease. Cant' let a visual impairment deter us however from achieving the highest possible level of wellness and also achieving our training objectives that makes us ready come race day. also, a blind and visually-impaired bike racer does the bulk of his or her training using a stationary standard bicycle or indoor stationary bike so that we are prepared when the opportunity comes that we can train outside on the tandem bicycle, with our fully-sighted teammate.

United States Army Active Duty
3rd BN 18th FA

Basic Training

Battle Buddy

R5-PARA Racing and The Agency Man (Streamline Agency)
It's always great to get outside on the tandem. Thank you to LP for a great day on the bike!

R5-PARA Racing and Streamline Agency

Since a track bicycle has a fixed-gear, direct-drive, design drivetrain each tandem team typically will reference a gear chart to determine which gear ratio best suits their training or racing objective. The "chainring" is in the front of the drivetrain and the "cog" is in the rear of the drivetrain. On the gear chart, the chainrings run vertical and the cogs run horizontal

Everything came out of the case with no damage, which is always a good thing:)
A very sincere thank you to The Independence Fund for the Carbon Calfee Road Racing tandem.
I am excited to be here in Tucson, AZ with my new teammate stephen Pedone for the R5-PARA Racing training camp in preparation for the 2017 U.S. Paralympics Track Cycling Open Jan 28-29 in Carson, cA at the VELO Sports Center as we all compete for the privilege to represent Team USA March 2-5 at the UCI Para-Cycling Track World Championships in Carson, cA.
The Track tandem arrives today but stephen and I will also do much of our training on the road machine.

The track tandem arrived here in Tucson with no damage:) All systems are a go, on the ground here in aZ for the R5-PARA Racing training camp in preparation for the 2017 U.S. Paralympics Track Cycling Open Jan 28-29 in Carson, cA at the VELO sports Center

Day 1 at the VELO Sports Center with my R5-PARA racing teammate, Stephen Pedone. In preparation for the 2017 U.S. Paralympics Track Cycling Open Jan 28-29 a 2017 UcI Para-Cycling Track World's selection event.
Our first day was challenging, as we sorted through several mechanical issues but Stephen and I negotiated the stress well together and successfully executed our training objective.

Only a few more training efforts for Stephen and I before we head to Carson, CA on Thursday in preparation for the U.S. Paralympics Track Cycling Open, a UCI Para-Cycling track World selection event. Stephen and I have put in some quality training efforts here in tucson and we are excited about the race. we will compete in the 4k individual pursuit and the 1k time-trial. Stephen and I are a new team for 2017 so we have reasonable expectations leading into the event and just want to have a strong ride on the track at the VELO Sports Center. I can't thank stephen enough for dedicating his time to training and racing with me. No matter the outcome, we fight eye disease, vision loss, and disability while also fighting for a National Championship and the privilege to represent Team USA in March at Track Worlds.

VELO|Vets cycling equipment loaded and ready for a training session at the VA BRC (Blind Rehab Center) in Tucson, AZ Fully-sighted volunteers meet every Tuesday at the tucson VA BRc and drive tandems with blind and visually-impaired Veterans, all the while, fighting vision loss and disability. Building a healthy lifestyle, one pedal stroke at a time!

Saw this sunset while traveling through Phoenix on our way to Carson, CA bound for the VELO Sports Center. Although I am visually-impaired and can't operate a motor vehicle or race a standard bicycle we can't let that stop us. My teammate, Stephne and great friend Dave Swanson and I made the drive from Tucson to Carson to defeat eye disease, race bikes and live life and along the way, captured this beautiful sunset and moment in time along an amazing journey. Makes me thankful for the remaining vision I do have.

We arrived at the VELO sports Center with no issues. Dave and stephen giving it a go on the tandem. Driver Driver!

My R5-PARA Racing teammate, Stephen Pedone, and I could not thank Dave swanson enough for all the coaching, wrenching, and overall mission support last weekend during the 2017 U.S. Paralympics Track cycling Open. Dave raced in the U.S. Paralympic Cycling Division for nearly 10seasons with his teammate Clark across multiple UCI road and Track world Championships, World Cups and National Championships. Dave is a world champion and multiple National Champion as a tandem driver and so stephen and I were privileged to have him as a part of the R5-Para Racing team this past weekend. We hope to see Dave take on a more significant role on the Paralympic Cycling National team program. Stephen and I owe much to Dave for our success this past weekend.

Silver medal in the 1k time-trial for my R5-PARA Racing teammate, Stephen Pedone, and I during the 2017 U.s. Paralympics Track Cycling Open. Nice ride by the Gold Medal team of Tanner and Jack. They are a strong KILO team and it was great to see them have a solid ride and win the National title in the KILO. Nice work Gentlemen.

The Agency Man, Laurent, and I at the Rock Hill Road Course turning hot laps in preparation for the 2017 R5-PARA Racing Spring Training camp

LP and I turning Hot Laps at the Rock Hill Road Course in preparation for the 2017 r5-PARA Racing Spring Training Camp.

Joseph Matta and I training at the Memorial Park CRIT course in Houston, TX. This is only our second ride together and already sprinting out of the saddle. Joseph is a legit tandem driver

2017 Houston, TX training ride with Joseph Matta. Our tune-up ride making sure the tandem is ready for Hot Laps on the cRIT course at Memorial Park in Houston, TX. Big thanks to Joseph for dedicating his time to training on the tandem with me.

The Agency Man, Streamline Agency, hammering laps with Joseph Matta and I at the Rock Hill Road Course

R5-PARA Racing with Joseph Matta at the helm hammering out a 10 mile time-trial with the Rock Hill Bicycle Club

The 2017 R5-PARA Racing Spring training Camp with Joseph Matta.

The 2017 R5-PARA Racing Spring Training Camp finished up with a 10 mile time-trial in Rock Hill with the Rock Hill Bicycle Club.

It's a privilege and honor to represent R5-PARA Racing and VELO|Vets with my first edition Custom Polo by BSG Custom Apparel I'm in route to a 2017 Para-Cycling Road National Championships preparation camp in Tucson, AZ with my teammate Stephen Pedone.

Stephen and I climbed Mt Lemmon today up to Windy Point, the half way point on the Mt Lemmon Climb. It was our first time climbing that far on Mt Lemmon together on the road machine. Stephen has climbed Mt Lemmon many times so the insanely fast descent was business as usual for him. The only difference today was, a 180lb dude on the back of a longer bicycle:)

I hate that Stephen and I could not find someone to take the photo for us to get the full visual effect that it required two of us to climb the road machine up to over 5k feet to Windy Point, about the half way point on the Mt Lemmon climb. During our climb up to windy Point, our coach had an interval set for us so we knocked that down and then kept the pedals turning a bit longer for bonus miles. Along the climb, I think I actually let out a battle cry of sorts because as a bike racer with a visual impairment who does the bulk of my training in the GTI (Garage Training Institute) back home, I get like a unleaded animal today who is so often caged. I gave Stephen a friendly jab to the kidney as a way to thank him for driving the road machine with a BVI dude like myself. Stephen could very well have been racing the UCI Tour of the Gila this week over in New Mexico but instead, he is racing with R5-PARA Racing as we pursue our goal of the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games. I can't skip over the descent though, back down Mt Lemmon. I have a genetic eye disease known as stargardts Disease that causes a loss of central vision so there is no way I could descend a bicycle the way we did today on the tandem. I can't thank The Independence Fund enough for providing such amazing mission support with the Calfee road tandem. Today we hit a top speed of 51mph and averaged 40mph for 20min as we descended back down the mountain. It was so awesome to hit the turns at speed, lean the bike and follow my teammate down the the mountain. All those days of sitting in the GTI, suffering through my workouts alone while watching Pro Cycling on YouTube, all that becomes worth it in just one ride outside on the tandem Also, today while climbing I heard Giuliana from VELO|Vets screen my name while she was on her descent going the other direction We caught up with her at the bottom and it was great to see the VELO|Vets uniform in action on the bike. Just an amazing day made possible by Stephen Pedone and Giuliana. Today we took to the mountain on the road machine and achieved our training objectives and kick stargardts in the face! Rule#1 There can be no victory, if you quit!

The 2017 R5-PARA Racing Custom Apparel by OwnWay Apparel-boulder, CO.

R5-PARA Racing with Stephen Pedone at the helm for the
2017 Arizona City Cotton Classic 40k TT
--cont'd--
The previous night, Stephen and I hauled the road machine over to see James Webster at Re-Cycle Tucson, Bike Shop, for a bike fit. James setup a proper time-trial position in the stoker cockpit and also transferred Stephen's TT position from his solo Tt bike over to the tandem.
Stephen and I noticed, last month at UCI Para-Cycling Track World Championship , that many of the top stokers across the UCI stage have adapted some variation of a proper Tt position and so James went to work.
Today was my first TT in the new position but I really like it. It definitley feels more aero and the feedback we received was that it looks more aero as well, as compared to my old position of traditional drop bars.
the 40k was by far the longest Tt I've done in a while but overall, the new position was great and I never felt like I couldn't make power.
For Stephen and I, the 40k was a great test run in preparation for Road Nationals next weekend.
It was also great to see several great friends out racing bikes today. VELO|Vets had a strong contingent of racers today.
The after action review here is this--At times, plans don't always unfold the way you expect and so it's the way you choose to manage the setback that defines the day. Today, my R5-PARA Racing teammate and I worked well together and made it form the start line to the finish line.

R5-PARA Racing with stephen Pedone at the helm
2017 Arizona City Cotton Classic

2017 Para-Cycling Road National Championships with teammate Stephen Pedone
R5-PARA Racing earned a silver medal in the road time-trial
I have been racing tandem since 2010 and I must admit the Grand Junction road and time-trial course and conditions were some of the most challenging I have encountered yet. I definitely underestimated the temperature when packing for my trip out west to Road Nationals. Stephen and I staged our training out of his home in Tucson in preparation for Road Nationals. It was very easy to leave the cold weather gear at home, considering the warm weather in Tucson.
Stephen and I adapted to the temperature however and took to the start line on Friday for our outbound leg of the road time-trial course.
it was only our second road time-trial together and my second time-trial in my newly adapted TT position and both Stephen and I were very pleased with the results.
Thank you to James Webster at re-Cycle Tucson for developing the TT position.
Although the very strong team of Paul Thomas and Aaron Shades took the top spot, Stephen and I were very pleased with our performance and that we held them off and prevented a pass by Paul and Aaron.
Paul and Aaron are a very fast team and with them starting 60 seconds behind us we fought hard to keep them from passing us.
Congratulations to Paul and Aaron for their 1st place finish.

2017 Arizona City Cotton Classic 40k Time-trial
R5-PARA Racing with teammate Stephen Pedone and Velo|Vets
It was great to see a VELO|Vets contingent out today at the Cotton Classic TT.

Velo|Vets and R5-PARA Racing with teammate Stephen Pedone getting it done at the 2017 Arizona City Cotton Classic 40k and 20k Time-trial

RE-Cycle Tucson
Big thanks to James Webster for developing my new Stoker Tt position and for dialing-in the driver's position as well.

R5-PARA Racing joined by Paul Harold of EPT Racing.
Charlotte Motor Speedway Time-trial Series
Race#2 with Epoch Universal and streamline Agency
I write about this aspect of my training and racing a lot, that I am a visually-impaired bike racer. I have to write about that component though because just looking at a photo doesn't come close to telling the story or describing how much work it takes just getting to the start line.
I like to write about the journey though, primarily to thank so many people who make it all possible.
Both on the bike and off the bike, whether it's my fully-sighted teammate or the family and friends who provide mission support, I could never do this without all of you.
The photo doesn't tell the story though. It is the perfect snapshot of team getting the work done, racing a tandem and building and maintaining a healthy lifestyle, despite vision loss, eye disease and disability.
The photo doesn't capture it all.
On this day for example, my teammate for the event, Paul Harold, and his family drove from the south side of CLT bound for Charlotte Motor Speedway and the 10 mile Tt.
Earlier that morning, my wife drove my van with all my equipment including the tandem to work which is located in a central spot which makes it easy to meet Paul and his family.
So, later in the day I took an Uber from north of CLT and met Paul in the middle. His son, Taylor, then jumped in the van with me and away we went, bound for CMS to race a tandem bicycle.
after the race, my wife took an Uber from her work to the restaurant where R5-PARA Racing and EPT Racing joined for post ride food and drinks
All of this made that photo possible. It may seem easy but it has taken many seasons for me to develop a logistics plan that gets me to the start line or to any given training ride and without so many friends and family, it would not be possible.
I only wish to convey a message here that if life finds a way to gut punch you and put barriers in your way, just find a way to knock them down and adapt to your circumstances so you can still live life to the fullest.
there will be so many days that will most likely be the worst and very challenging and you will likely want to quit, shut the door on the training model, the racing and just give up.
You can't quit though, just keep fighting and work through the hard days and eventually, you will find yourself in the right moment when you get to take a photo like this one.
I can't thank Paul, Laurent and so many others for making this possible and keeping me in the fight.
R5-PARA racing and EPT Racing with Streamline Agency --->Rule#1 There can be no victory, if you quit!

2017 Tennessee Para-Cycling Open
Teammate: Stephen Pedone
For Stephen and I, we approached the TPO with the same execution and strategy that we would a National Championship or even a World Cup or World Championship.
Our thought was, if we can't execute at a regional event then how will we execute our plan at a National or International event.
So, Saturday morning we left the start line outbound for our 20k time-trial and really focused on pacing, leg speed through the rollers and staying as aero as possible.
For me, one thing I didn't have to focus on was an eye disease that threatens my wellness each and every day.
When we are on the bike, Stargardts Disease isn't even a thought.
Our next major event this season is the 2017 U.S. Paralympic Time-trial in Keenesburg, CO June 17.
The June 17 Tt will serve as the selection event for 2017 UCI Para-Cycling Road Woeld Championships.
Stephen and I are training hard with hopes to represent Team USA in South Africa later this season at Road Worlds.
Also later this season on the UCI Para-Cycling calendar is Road World Cup #3 in the Netherlands.
R5-PARA Racing submitted a discretionary application for WC#3 so maybe, just maybe, we will have the opportunity to represent Team USA for the last WC this season before teams head to South Africa for Road Worlds.

2017 Tennessee Para-Cycling Open
Teammate: Stephen Pedone
Road Race
Although Stephen and I had a "Tech Failure" because I didn't properly mount the 360Fly camera during the Road race, we were both still satisfied with our overall effort as we worked hard to bridge back to the two lead tandems.
Pictured is Stephen and I racing in the 2016 edition, R5-PARA Racing team uniform.
We are excited to be working with Ownway Apparel for the 2017 R5-PARA Racing team uniform.
With 3 races in two days we just ran out of 2017 clothing:)

2017 Rock Hill Bicycle Club 10 mile Time-Trial Series
R5-PARA Racing and EPT Racing putting down the hammer in riding to a PR
I know I write about this component of vision loss a lot, the emotional and psychological impact but it truly is such a battle, managing the Psycho-Socio-Emotio effects of eye disease, vision loss and disability.
This is why I always try my best to express how thankful I am each and every time I get outside on the tandem and enjoy a sport I am so passionate about, cycling.
I can spend sometimes weeks in my garage training and having that one training ride or race outside is enough to keep the flame of passion lighted for bike racing.
So, when a truly amazing person like Paul and so many teammates I train and race with climb aboard the tandem, it has more impact than they may know.

During our warmup, Stephen and I discussed our strategy for how to ride the 33k time-trial we were about to tackle. We had a windy outbound leg so we attacked it with more power and after we hit the turnaround, we spun the gear as fast as possible, utilizing the tailwind and allowing it to push us home.
I was quite surprised however because the inbound mission, even with the tailwind, was still pretty hard and at about the 4k marker I was deep in the hurt locker but I heard stephen yelling "South Africa" as a reminder for what we were fighting.

This photo is especially telling because it is difficult to drive a tandem through a 180 degree turn so when Stephen and I approached the 180 I came out of the aerobars and prepared to maneuver the bike around the turn, stand, and accelerate the road machine back up to speed for the inbound mission.
I have a ton of respect for the tandem Drivers who have to turn such a long bike with two riders, through a 180 degree narrow turn, coming into the turn at approximately 30mph. An approximate speed but we definitely approached the turnaround with a lot of momentum that we had to slow and then accelerate back up to speed.

Charlotte Motor Speedway Time-Trial series Race#3
R5-PARA Racing and EPT Racing in a shared mission and a shared fight against eye disease, vision loss and disability!
building and maintaining a healthy lifestyle despite difficult circumstances!

So awesome to see Jamie Crowell a totally blind cyclist compete in the charlotte Motor Speedway 10 Mile Time-trial presented by Start2finish-Charlotte.
Thanks to PARA~Guide for plotting a transit solution and providing transportation services to and from the event for both Jamie and I.
It's nights of racing bikes such as this that make winning the war on Stargardts Disease, vision loss and disability, a whole lot easier!

A wonderful group of friends and Tandem Drivers/Guides who support the Para-Cycling and Para-Triathlon movement.

2016 Tennessee Para-cycling Open
Teammate: Kyle Knott

2016 Tennessee Para-Cycling Open
Teammate: Kyle Knott

2016 Tennessee Para-Cycling Open
Teammate: Kyle Knott

2016 USABA Tandem Cycling Race Camp
Teammate: John Jose

Two incredible people and tandem drivers who have invested so much in the the growth of the para-cycling and para-triathlon movement and to the lives of blind and visually-impaired athletes like myself. today was such a wonderful day on and off the bike spent with great people.

Met some really great people today at NC VELO in charlotte, Nc with James Spencer and caroline Gainer. such a wonderful day!

These incredible people make the impossible possible.

El Tour de Tucson Day 1:
Saguaro National Park tune-up ride with teammate John Jose

El Tour de Tucson
Day 3 departing the dry riverbed
Teammate: John Jose

El Tour de Tucson
The finish 106miles brutal
Teammate: John Jose

John Jose and I navigating our way through the dry riverbed during El Tour.
We shouldered the tandem for much of it and got it done!
We didn't let a visual impairment stop us. I followed my teammate through the dust and we continued on our way on the other side.

106mile route

Calfee Road Tandem made possible by the Independence Fund
Thank you to Podium MultiSport-NC for helping with assembly of the bike.

The Independence Fund

The Independence Fund
Thank you to Bob Johnson at Podium MultiSport-NC for helping with assembly of the new Calfee Road Tandem made possible by the Independence Fund

First R5-PARA Racing training ride on the new Carbon Calfee Road Racing tandem today, made possible by Laurent, owner at Streamline Agency, and also great friend of R5-PARA Racing and the Podium MultiSport-NC family. Laurent had never driven tandem before and he took to it like a pro, navigating some rather technical "slow roll" traffic situations but most importantly, Laurent and I took the road machine for it's first training ride, we worked together like a well-oiled machine, shared several laughs along the way and defeated vision loss all inside about 50miles. Each and every time the experience is as positive, it's a victory. Thank you to Streamline agency, Podium MultiSport-NC and Laurent for keeping the Paralympic dream alive.
Most importantly, thank you to The Independence fund for making such an amazing machine possible, as it serves as a mechanism for defeating eye disease, vision loss and disability.

R5-PARA Racing and The Agency Man (Streamline Agency)
Big thanks to LP for driving tandem with me yesterday.
As a visually-impaired bike racer, I do the bulk of my training inside so it was great to get outside yesterday on the tandem.
LP drove 2hrs roundtrip through the LKN i77 blackhole just to drive tandem with a visually-impaired dude like myself.
Incredible people!!

Everything came out of the case with no damage, which is always a good thing:)
A very sincere thank you to The Independence Fund for the Carbon Calfee Road Racing tandem.
I am excited to be here in Tucson, AZ with my new teammate stephen Pedone for the R5-PARA Racing training camp in preparation for the 2017 U.S. Paralympics Track Cycling Open Jan 28-29 in Carson, cA at the VELO Sports Center as we all compete for the privilege to represent Team USA March 2-5 at the UCI Para-Cycling Track World Championships in Carson, cA.
The Track tandem arrives today but stephen and I will also do much of our training on the road machine.

Day 1 at the VELO Sports Center with my R5-PARA racing teammate, Stephen Pedone. In preparation for the 2017 U.S. Paralympics Track Cycling Open Jan 28-29 a 2017 UcI Para-Cycling Track World's selection event.
Our first day was challenging, as we sorted through several mechanical issues but Stephen and I negotiated the stress well together and successfully executed our training objective.

Big thanks to everyone at RBar Energy (Tucson, AZ) for supplying Stephen and I with RBar nutrition for the R5-PARA Racing training camp, in preparation for the 2017 U.S. Paralympics Track Cycling Open Jan 28-29. A 2017 UCI Para-Cycling Track World's selection event. Today was day 1 at the VELO Sports Center for Stephen and I and it was a very challenging day, as we initially sorted through our gear selection and bike position. It was great to have the RBar Nutrition with us today at the vELO sports Center so we could successfully achieve our training objective.
Visit the RBar website and discover why RBar stands apart from the rest.
https://www.rbarenergy.com
Their mission:
We make RBars for people who aren't satisfied with following the crowd. The people who pursue the freedom of the outdoors, the wide open spaces of experience, and the adventure of travel. At RBar, we believe everyone has that spirit inside of them.

The Velo|Vets cycling equipment, all received via donations from people from the Tucson community. The VELO|Vets volunteers meet every Tuesday night at the VA BRC (Blind Rehab Center) and drive tandem bicycles with the blind and visually-impaired Veterans who are participating in the blind rehab program at the Tucson BRC. it truly is amazing what these volunteers do and I can personally attest to how beneficial training on a tandem bicycle can be in the way of building a healthy lifestyle despite vision loss or disable its.

Saw this sunset while traveling through Phoenix on our way to Carson, CA bound for the VELO Sports Center. Although I am visually-impaired and can't operate a motor vehicle or race a standard bicycle we can't let that stop us. My teammate, Stephne and great friend Dave Swanson and I made the drive from Tucson to Carson to defeat eye disease, race bikes and live life and along the way, captured this beautiful sunset and moment in time along an amazing journey. Makes me thankful for the remaining vision I do have.

The track machine is ready for battle. R5-PARA Racing couldn't thank Radial Sports and fFWD wheels enough for the front and rear FFWD track disc. I haven't found too many wheel companies out there who support their wheels for tandem use but FFWD is one of them.

My R5-PARA Racing teammate, Stephen Pedone, and I could not thank Dave swanson enough for all the coaching, wrenching, and overall mission support last weekend during the 2017 U.S. Paralympics Track cycling Open. Dave raced in the U.S. Paralympic Cycling Division for nearly 10seasons with his teammate Clark across multiple UCI road and Track world Championships, World Cups and National Championships. Dave is a world champion and multiple National Champion as a tandem driver and so stephen and I were privileged to have him as a part of the R5-Para Racing team this past weekend. We hope to see Dave take on a more significant role on the Paralympic Cycling National team program. Stephen and I owe much to Dave for our success this past weekend.

John, a member of the Tandem Driver Corps and strong supporter of the R5-PARA Racing mission, wearing the 2017R5-PARA colors by BSG Custom Apparel.

Joseph Matta and I preparing for a 50mile training ride out of Chapel Hill, TX.

Nice Save by Joseph Matta

The 2017 R5-PARA Racing Spring training Camp with Joseph Matta.

The 2017 R5-PARA Racing Spring Training Camp with Joseph Matta finished up with a 10mile road time-trial with the Rock Hill Bicycle Club and a 4k Individual Pursuit followed by 1k Time-trial at the Giordana Velodrome. Joseph and I had absolutely nothing left at the day's end.

R5-PARA Racing

Stephen and I stopped at La Buzz this morning before we started our Mt Lemmon climb in Tucson, AZ. if you are a cyclist and you come to Tucson, you have to visit La Buzz at least once.

It requires a lot of work getting the road machine from point A to B bt the mission isn't always easy but the end result is worth it.

R5-PARA Racing with Stephen Pedone at the helm for the
2017 Arizona City Cotton Classic 40k TT
--cont'd--
The previous night, Stephen and I hauled the road machine over to see James Webster at Re-Cycle Tucson, Bike Shop, for a bike fit. James setup a proper time-trial position in the stoker cockpit and also transferred Stephen's TT position from his solo Tt bike over to the tandem.
Stephen and I noticed, last month at UCI Para-Cycling Track World Championship , that many of the top stokers across the UCI stage have adapted some variation of a proper Tt position and so James went to work.
Today was my first TT in the new position but I really like it. It definitley feels more aero and the feedback we received was that it looks more aero as well, as compared to my old position of traditional drop bars.
the 40k was by far the longest Tt I've done in a while but overall, the new position was great and I never felt like I couldn't make power.
For Stephen and I, the 40k was a great test run in preparation for Road Nationals next weekend.
It was also great to see several great friends out racing bikes today. VELO|Vets had a strong contingent of racers today.
The after action review here is this--At times, plans don't always unfold the way you expect and so it's the way you choose to manage the setback that defines the day. Today, my R5-PARA Racing teammate and I worked well together and made it form the start line to the finish line.

2017 Para-Cycling Road National Championships with teammate Stephen Pedone
R5-PARA Racing earned a silver medal in the road time-trial
I have been racing tandem since 2010 and I must admit the Grand Junction road and time-trial course and conditions were some of the most challenging I have encountered yet. I definitely underestimated the temperature when packing for my trip out west to Road Nationals. Stephen and I staged our training out of his home in Tucson in preparation for Road Nationals. It was very easy to leave the cold weather gear at home, considering the warm weather in Tucson.
Stephen and I adapted to the temperature however and took to the start line on Friday for our outbound leg of the road time-trial course.
it was only our second road time-trial together and my second time-trial in my newly adapted TT position and both Stephen and I were very pleased with the results.
Thank you to James Webster at re-Cycle Tucson for developing the TT position.
Although the very strong team of Paul Thomas and Aaron Shades took the top spot, Stephen and I were very pleased with our performance and that we held them off and prevented a pass by Paul and Aaron.
Paul and Aaron are a very fast team and with them starting 60 seconds behind us we fought hard to keep them from passing us.
Congratulations to Paul and Aaron for their 1st place finish.

2017 Para-Cycling Road National Championships
R5-PARA Racing with teammate stephen Pedone
R5-PARA Racing earned a silver medal in the Road time-trial and road race.
It was a privilege to race with Paul Thomas and aaron Shades , who took the top spot in both events this season at Para-Cycling Road Nationals.
Aaron and Paul are a strong team and we look forward to hopefully competing with them again in Keensburg, CO June 17 in the U.s. Paralympic Cycling Time-trial, a Para-cycling Road World Championship selection event.
A sincere thank you to my teammate, Stephen Pedone, for dedicating his time and energy into racing the tandem with me.

Velo|Vets and R5-PARA Racing with teammate Stephen Pedone getting it done at the 2017 Arizona City Cotton Classic 40k and 20k Time-trial

R5-PARA Racing joined by Paul Harold of EPT Racing.
Charlotte Motor Speedway Time-trial Series
Race#2 with Epoch Universal and streamline Agency
I write about this aspect of my training and racing a lot, that I am a visually-impaired bike racer. I have to write about that component though because just looking at a photo doesn't come close to telling the story or describing how much work it takes just getting to the start line.
I like to write about the journey though, primarily to thank so many people who make it all possible.
Both on the bike and off the bike, whether it's my fully-sighted teammate or the family and friends who provide mission support, I could never do this without all of you.
The photo doesn't tell the story though. It is the perfect snapshot of team getting the work done, racing a tandem and building and maintaining a healthy lifestyle, despite vision loss, eye disease and disability.
The photo doesn't capture it all.
On this day for example, my teammate for the event, Paul Harold, and his family drove from the south side of CLT bound for Charlotte Motor Speedway and the 10 mile Tt.
Earlier that morning, my wife drove my van with all my equipment including the tandem to work which is located in a central spot which makes it easy to meet Paul and his family.
So, later in the day I took an Uber from north of CLT and met Paul in the middle. His son, Taylor, then jumped in the van with me and away we went, bound for CMS to race a tandem bicycle.
after the race, my wife took an Uber from her work to the restaurant where R5-PARA Racing and EPT Racing joined for post ride food and drinks
All of this made that photo possible. It may seem easy but it has taken many seasons for me to develop a logistics plan that gets me to the start line or to any given training ride and without so many friends and family, it would not be possible.
I only wish to convey a message here that if life finds a way to gut punch you and put barriers in your way, just find a way to knock them down and adapt to your circumstances so you can still live life to the fullest.
there will be so many days that will most likely be the worst and very challenging and you will likely want to quit, shut the door on the training model, the racing and just give up.
You can't quit though, just keep fighting and work through the hard days and eventually, you will find yourself in the right moment when you get to take a photo like this one.
I can't thank Paul, Laurent and so many others for making this possible and keeping me in the fight.
R5-PARA racing and EPT Racing with Streamline Agency --->Rule#1 There can be no victory, if you quit!

2017 Tennessee Para-Cycling Open
Teammate: Stephen Pedone
Criterium
In Para-Cycling the tandem category which consists of the blind and visually-impaired stokers and their fully-sighted teammates or "Drivers" typically do not race CRITs in National Championship events or on the UCI international stage, although I would love to have such a race added to the calendar.
So, for the TPO to offer a tandem CRIT is really awesome. As a tandem race team, racing a CRIT, in my opinion, offers a great opportunity to develop extremely valuable cornering and overall handling skills that we might not otherwise have the opportunity to develop that we can then take to the National and International stages.
Often, the Stoker spends a ton of time inside on a stationary bike which doesn't give much opportunity for cornering the tandem, executing standing accelerations and communication methods between Driver and stoker.
The TPO is one of a kind in that it offers 3 Para-Cycling races across two days for all categories.
We all can not thank enough, Greg Miller, Karen Miller and all the volunteers who for 3 seasons now make the tennessee Para-Cycling Open a reality

During our warmup, Stephen and I discussed our strategy for how to ride the 33k time-trial we were about to tackle. We had a windy outbound leg so we attacked it with more power and after we hit the turnaround, we spun the gear as fast as possible, utilizing the tailwind and allowing it to push us home.
I was quite surprised however because the inbound mission, even with the tailwind, was still pretty hard and at about the 4k marker I was deep in the hurt locker but I heard stephen yelling "South Africa" as a reminder for what we were fighting.

Accelerating the road machine back up to speed after the outbound mission.
We had a tailwind on the inbound mission so we knew we had to spin the gear as best we could and stay smooth on the pedals.
Stephen and I have to thank James Webster at Re-Cycle Tucson for working with us earlier this season and adapting a new aerobar position in the Stoker cockpit.
I had never ridden with a true set of aerobars until James took to the task of adapting my new position. Stephen and I both believe that position was crucial today in producing our 29.5mph AVG speed over 33k.
Unofficially, this places us 7th overall on the rankings list and puts us in a good spot for Team USA nomination but we will have to wait until Thursday to discover if a south Africa trip is in the future for Stephen and I in what could be our first Road World Championship event together.
No matter the outcome however, we keep fighting and enjoy the journey of racing bike, defeating vision loss, eye disease and disability.

2017 CCA Reginal Track Champs preparation with PARA~Gide, Paul Harold and Shannon Houlihan at Giordana Velodrome
Always great to chat with Bob Nixon when at Giordana velodrome. Bob is the kindest person you will ever meet:)

Met some really cool people today at NCVelo . Joe was definitely among them and may even train on the track machine with me.
Can't thank Caroline and James enough for the courage to introduce para-cycling and what the BVI tandem is all about.

3 friends, two bikes and 1 very important mission!

Training ride with James and caroline today with NC vELO out of charlotte Nc
For our first training ride on the tandem James drove a really solid ride with not a single hitch.

El Tour de Tucson
Day 3 departing the dry riverbed
Teammate: John Jose

El Tour de Tucson
Day 3 exiting dry riverbed heading to resupply point with Lynn
Teammate: John Jose

El Tour de Tucson
Day 3 Todd Key muscling through the dry riverbed
The man's a beast!

2016 El Tour de Tucson
Teammate John Jose and I doing a bit of tandem CX during the 106mile El tour.
No matter a visual impairment, I followed my teammate through the dust and we emerged on the other side to continue on our way.

2016 Que Sheet

The Independence Fund
Thank you to Podium MultiSport-NC for helping with assembly of the bike.

Thank you Independence Fund

The Independence Fund

A very close simulation of what it's like looking through the eyes of a person with Stargardt's Disease. Cant' let a visual impairment deter us however from achieving the highest possible level of wellness and also achieving our training objectives that makes us ready come race day. also, a blind and visually-impaired bike racer does the bulk of his or her training using a stationary standard bicycle or indoor stationary bike so that we are prepared when the opportunity comes that we can train outside on the tandem bicycle, with our fully-sighted teammate.

A photo taken from behind the eye of a person with stargardt's Disease. I have seen similar pictures of my own eyes. Can't let this block the training objectives or block achieving the highest possible level of wellness. Just keep fighting!

Basic Training

Railhead deploying to Ft Riley Kansas for FTX

R5-PARA Racing and Streamline Agency

Since a track bicycle has a fixed-gear, direct-drive, design drivetrain each tandem team typically will reference a gear chart to determine which gear ratio best suits their training or racing objective. The "chainring" is in the front of the drivetrain and the "cog" is in the rear of the drivetrain. On the gear chart, the chainrings run vertical and the cogs run horizontal

A privilege to roll my first Shootout with teammate Stephen Pedone, here in Tucson, AZ at the R5-PARA Racing training camp. In preparation for the 2017 U.S. Paralympics Track Cycling Open Jan 28-29 as we compete for the privilege to represent Team USA at UCI Para-Cycling Track World Championships March 2-5 at the VELO Sports Center in Carson, CA.
The Shootout was one of the hardest training rides I've done and with a mixture of professional cyclists, Triathletes, and Collegiate riders, it was a great first test for stephen and I on the tandem. In only our third ride we rode well together and it was an awesome privilege as a visually-impaired athlete to hammer down with such a high caliber group of cyclists.

Here in Tucson, AZ for the R5-PARA Racing training camp with teammate Stephen Pedone. Stephen and I had the privilege to have Dave Swanson coach us through a standing start training session here in Tucson. if you can't access a velodrome then taking the track machine out to a empty section of road is the next best thing. it was a great opportunity for Stephen and I to practice starts, which is the most technical component of our two events on the track next weekend at the VELO Sports Center in Carson, cA as we compete for a National Championship and also the privilege to represent Team USa at UCI Track Worlds in March.

VELO|Vets cycling equipment loaded and ready for a training session at the VA BRC (Blind Rehab Center) in Tucson, AZ Fully-sighted volunteers meet every Tuesday at the tucson VA BRc and drive tandems with blind and visually-impaired Veterans, all the while, fighting vision loss and disability. Building a healthy lifestyle, one pedal stroke at a time!

We arrived at the VELO sports Center with no issues. Dave and stephen giving it a go on the tandem. Driver Driver!

Thank you to my R5-PARA Racing teammate, Stephen Pedone, for executing a great 4k Individual Pursuit at the 2017 U.S. Paralympics Track Cycling Open with me over the weekend as we earned a National Championship. For stephen and I, it was only our 4th time on the track so we are very excited about the progress we hope to make in the coming months as we prepare for the 2017 season.

My R5-PARA Racing teammate, stephen Pedone, and I during warmup at the 2017 U.S. Paralympics Track Cycling Open in at the VELO Sports Center.
Big thanks to BSG Custom Apparel for such a Professional grade Speed Suit and to the Independence Fund for the Calfee Road tandem that stephen and I will do battle on later this season once we transition into road season. The calf was instrumental to our training here in Tucson leading up to the track event in Carson.

Gates Pass climb with teammate, Stephen Pedone. None need be spoken.

Laurent "The agency Man" , owner at Streamline Agency and strong supporter of the R5-PARA Racing mission. Laurent is also a member of the Tandem Driver Corps.

LP and I turning Hot Laps at the Rock Hill Road Course in preparation for the 2017 r5-PARA Racing Spring Training Camp.

Joseph Matta and I training at the Memorial Park CRIT course in Houston, TX. This is only our second ride together and already sprinting out of the saddle. Joseph is a legit tandem driver

2017 Houston, TX training ride with Joseph Matta. Our tune-up ride making sure the tandem is ready for Hot Laps on the cRIT course at Memorial Park in Houston, TX. Big thanks to Joseph for dedicating his time to training on the tandem with me.

The 2017 R5-PARA Racing Spring Training Camp wit Joseph Matta. The last day of our camp we hammered out a 10mile time-trial with the Rock Hill Bicycle Club.

The 2017 R5-PARA Racing Spring Training Camp finished up with a 10 mile time-trial in Rock Hill with the Rock Hill Bicycle Club.

During the R5-PARA Racing Spring Training Camp with Joseph Matta, it was great to meet with Dana Dre from the Department of Veteran's Affairs, Blake Center from Rock Hill Parks and rec as well as Streamline Agency to discuss ideas about building a Para-Cycling training program at the Rock Hill Road Course. Really excited to see what we can do.

U.S. Paralympic Cycling

It's a privilege and honor to represent R5-PARA Racing and VELO|Vets with my first edition Custom Polo by BSG Custom Apparel I'm in route to a 2017 Para-Cycling Road National Championships preparation camp in Tucson, AZ with my teammate Stephen Pedone.

I hate that Stephen and I could not find someone to take the photo for us to get the full visual effect that it required two of us to climb the road machine up to over 5k feet to Windy Point, about the half way point on the Mt Lemmon climb. During our climb up to windy Point, our coach had an interval set for us so we knocked that down and then kept the pedals turning a bit longer for bonus miles. Along the climb, I think I actually let out a battle cry of sorts because as a bike racer with a visual impairment who does the bulk of my training in the GTI (Garage Training Institute) back home, I get like a unleaded animal today who is so often caged. I gave Stephen a friendly jab to the kidney as a way to thank him for driving the road machine with a BVI dude like myself. Stephen could very well have been racing the UCI Tour of the Gila this week over in New Mexico but instead, he is racing with R5-PARA Racing as we pursue our goal of the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games. I can't skip over the descent though, back down Mt Lemmon. I have a genetic eye disease known as stargardts Disease that causes a loss of central vision so there is no way I could descend a bicycle the way we did today on the tandem. I can't thank The Independence Fund enough for providing such amazing mission support with the Calfee road tandem. Today we hit a top speed of 51mph and averaged 40mph for 20min as we descended back down the mountain. It was so awesome to hit the turns at speed, lean the bike and follow my teammate down the the mountain. All those days of sitting in the GTI, suffering through my workouts alone while watching Pro Cycling on YouTube, all that becomes worth it in just one ride outside on the tandem Also, today while climbing I heard Giuliana from VELO|Vets screen my name while she was on her descent going the other direction We caught up with her at the bottom and it was great to see the VELO|Vets uniform in action on the bike. Just an amazing day made possible by Stephen Pedone and Giuliana. Today we took to the mountain on the road machine and achieved our training objectives and kick stargardts in the face! Rule#1 There can be no victory, if you quit!

R5-PARA Racing with Stephen Pedone at the helm for the
Arizona City Cotton Classic 40k Time-trial
What a challenging morning in deed. Stephen and I have been training pretty solid now for the last 4days or so in preparation for 2017 Para-Cycling Road National Championships next weekend in Grand Junction, CO.
This morning headed over to Arizona City, a very small town between Tucson and Phoenix, for the Arizona City Cotton Classic 20k and 40k time-trial.
In just about every domain of life things don't always go the way you plan and this morning was no exception.
Stephen and I registered for the 20k and 40k as well, planning to use the 20k as a warmup for the 40k effort. As we were heading over to the start line we noticed our disc was flat so we had to switch wheels. Fortunately, we had a spare wheel to race on.
An unexpected event like this can really test a tandem team but stephen and I managed the stress well, switched the wheels out and headed back to the start line.
Unfortunately, we missed our opportunity for a proper warmup so we left the start line for the outbound leg of our 40k time-trial.

So amazing to see the new trailer that was donated to VELO|Vets so now VV can more efficiently transport the cycling equipment used for training and racing.
The VELO|Vets volunteers train and race on tandem bicycles each week with blind and visually-impaired Veterans at the tucson, AZ VA blind rehabilitation center. I personally had the privilege to attend a training ride and also speak to a group of BVI Veterans (blind and or visually-impaired) during a recent training block with my teammate, Stephen Pedone.
I can't express enough the impact an activity like riding a bicycle can have in the life of a BVI person like myself and the Veteran's that Velo|Vets work with each week.
Thank you to all the volunteers and donors who work to make this possible.

RE-Cycle Tucson
Big thanks to James Webster for developing my new Stoker Tt position and for dialing-in the driver's position as well.

2017 Tennessee Para-Cycling Open
20k time-trial
R5-PARA Racing teammate: Stephen Pedone
The 2017 TPO was a great weekend of racing and I can't thank enough my teammate, Stephen Pedone, for traveling from Tucson for the event.
As a visually-impaired bike racer, I do the bulk of my training in the GTI (garage training institute) when I am not outside on the tandem bicycle with my teammates with whom I train and race. So, to have an event like the TPO is pretty awesome and a great opportunity to gain crucial racing experience that my teammate and I can take to National level and International level events.
For the tandem category specifically, it is difficult to find, if not impossible, road racing and CRIT racing experience. Although in Para-Cycling at the National and International level we don't race CRITs, I think a CRIT still offers similar enough TSS, IF and overall race tactics and strategy that tandem race teams can use to sharpen their skills in preparation for the big National and International events.
For Stephen and I, we have the Tokyo 2020 selection event on our radar so each and every training ride and race we do between now and then is important.
--Continue reading in the next photo--

2017 Tennessee Para-Cycling Open
Teammate: Stephen Pedone
Road Race
Although Stephen and I had a "Tech Failure" because I didn't properly mount the 360Fly camera during the Road race, we were both still satisfied with our overall effort as we worked hard to bridge back to the two lead tandems.
Pictured is Stephen and I racing in the 2016 edition, R5-PARA Racing team uniform.
We are excited to be working with Ownway Apparel for the 2017 R5-PARA Racing team uniform.
With 3 races in two days we just ran out of 2017 clothing:)

2017 Rock Hill Bicycle Club 10 mile Time-Trial Series
R5-PARA Racing and EPT Racing putting down the hammer in riding to a PR
I know I write about this component of vision loss a lot, the emotional and psychological impact but it truly is such a battle, managing the Psycho-Socio-Emotio effects of eye disease, vision loss and disability.
This is why I always try my best to express how thankful I am each and every time I get outside on the tandem and enjoy a sport I am so passionate about, cycling.
I can spend sometimes weeks in my garage training and having that one training ride or race outside is enough to keep the flame of passion lighted for bike racing.
So, when a truly amazing person like Paul and so many teammates I train and race with climb aboard the tandem, it has more impact than they may know.

at about the 4k marker, just beyond a little S-bend, that is when I began hearing stephen yelling "South Africa" since that is where World will take place in August. At this point during or 42min Tt I was coming apart and suffering deep into the hurt locker but I dug deeper than I have in a long while and I know Stephen did as well because once we crossed the finish line we were both wrecked.

Charlotte Motor Speedway Time-Trial series Race#3
R5-PARA Racing and EPT Racing in a shared mission and a shared fight against eye disease, vision loss and disability!
building and maintaining a healthy lifestyle despite difficult circumstances!

2017 Charlotte Motor speedway Team Time-trial 20 mile
R5-PARA Racing with Paul Harold at the helm.
What a fun night of racing with Paul and several other EPT Racing team members. With a visual impairment I could never hammer down the backstretch at over 35mph with bikes all around and do it within a reasonable amount of safety.
I can't thank Paul enough for driving the tandem with me so that we could hold the hammer a, race bikes and defeat Stargardts Disease, vision loss and disability.
And having a ton of fun along the way!

So awesome to see Jamie Crowell a totally blind cyclist compete in the charlotte Motor Speedway 10 Mile Time-trial presented by Start2finish-Charlotte.
Thanks to PARA~Guide for plotting a transit solution and providing transportation services to and from the event for both Jamie and I.
It's nights of racing bikes such as this that make winning the war on Stargardts Disease, vision loss and disability, a whole lot easier!

My wife and I live about 30miles from James and Caroline. she drove the 60miles roundtrip to meet with us after our training ride, just so I could ride a bicycle with James Spencer. I couldn't defeat Stargardts disease without amazing friends and family. thank you to all three of you for such a positive experience.

Training ride with James spencer and caroline gainer. this was our first ride, James and I and I can't thank James enough for driving tandem with me today. For only our first ride James drove a solid ride today with no hitch at all. He is such an invaluable resource to the blind and visually-impaired community, as well as Caroline gainer who will compete in an upcoming international competition as a Guide in the Para-triathlon division with another visually-impaired athlete.

The Independence Fund

El Tour de Tucson Trip
Day 1: Windy Point on Mt Lemmon
Teammate: John Jose

El Tour de Tucson
Day 4 Dinner with great friends

El Tour de Tucson
Big thanks to VELO/Vets for the awesome cycling cap!

El Tour de Tucson
Day 1 Expo
Checking-out the Land Speed record bike

El Tour de Tucson
Day 2 Saguaro National Park tune-up ride
don't have cactus in North Carolina
Teammate: John Jose

El Tour de Tucson
Day 3 Post ride man hug 106miles
Teammate John Jose

El Tour de tucson 2016

106mile route

Calfee Road Tandem made possible by the Independence Fund
Thank you to Bob Johnson at Podium MultiSport for helping with assembly of the bike.

The Independence Fund

The Independence Fund

United States Army Active Duty
3rd BN 18th FA

FTX

FTX

R5-PARA Racing and The Agency Man (Streamline Agency)
It's always great to get outside on the tandem. Thank you to LP for a great day on the bike!

It's always great to get outside for a training ride!
Thank you to LP and Streamline agency for making it possible.

The R5-PARA Racing training camp begins. Here in Tucson, AZ training with my teammate Stephen Pedone in preparation for the 2017 season with our first stop in Carson, CA for the U.S. Paralympics Track Cycling Open as we compete for the privilege to represent Team USA at the 2017 Para-Cycling Track World Championships in Carson, CA Jan 28-29.
All the equipment arrived with no damage.
Big thanks to Stephen for racing with me and to Ben and stephen both for letting me live with them so Stephen and I can train and sharpen our skills on the tandem.

The track tandem arrived here in Tucson with no damage:) All systems are a go, on the ground here in aZ for the R5-PARA Racing training camp in preparation for the 2017 U.S. Paralympics Track Cycling Open Jan 28-29 in Carson, cA at the VELO sports Center

Only a few more training efforts for Stephen and I before we head to Carson, CA on Thursday in preparation for the U.S. Paralympics Track Cycling Open, a UCI Para-Cycling track World selection event. Stephen and I have put in some quality training efforts here in tucson and we are excited about the race. we will compete in the 4k individual pursuit and the 1k time-trial. Stephen and I are a new team for 2017 so we have reasonable expectations leading into the event and just want to have a strong ride on the track at the VELO Sports Center. I can't thank stephen enough for dedicating his time to training and racing with me. No matter the outcome, we fight eye disease, vision loss, and disability while also fighting for a National Championship and the privilege to represent Team USA in March at Track Worlds.

The van is loaded and ready for our trip to Carson, CA and the VELO sports Center in preparation for the 2017 U.S. Paralympics Track Cycling Open, a 2017 Para-Cycling Track World Championships selection event. My teammate, Stephne Pedone, and I could not thank Dave Swanson enough for all the mission support! To race a tandem bicycle with a visually-impaired teammate, it truly takes a lot of team work.

My teammate, Stephen Pedone, and I before our 4k Individual Pursuit at the 2017 U.S. Paralympics Track Cycling Open at the VELO Sports Center
Big thanks to BSG Apparel for such a Professional grade speed Suit and the R5-PARA Racing team uniform. Honestly, I have never raced in a speed suit of such high quality. I particularly like the Silver level fabric quality with exceptionally strong stitching. Also, the sleeve length is perfect so that the sleeves don't slide up when the rider is on the bike in race position. I also like the thumb hole at the sleeve's end. I also really like the leg gripper design which stays in place really well and the front zipper design makes it easy to remove your speed Suit in the event you need to use the rest room one last time before your race. The low collar is another feature I like in a Speed suit.

My R5-PARA Racing teammate, Stephen Pedone, and I after our 4k Individual Pursuit at the 2017 U.s. Paralympics Track Cycling Open in Carson, ca at the VELO Sports Center. we won a National Championship in the 4k Individual Pursuit

Silver medal in the 1k time-trial for my R5-PARA Racing teammate, Stephen Pedone, and I during the 2017 U.s. Paralympics Track Cycling Open. Nice ride by the Gold Medal team of Tanner and Jack. They are a strong KILO team and it was great to see them have a solid ride and win the National title in the KILO. Nice work Gentlemen.

Received my first order, R5-PARA Racing polo shirt by OwnWay Custom Apparel. I had the privilege and honor to wear it yesterday when traveling form Charlotte to Tucson. I am here in Tucson training with my teammate, Stephen Pedone-AZ in preparation for 2017 Para-Cycling Road National Championships in Grand Junction, CO. April 28/29. it is such a privilege to wear the R5-PARA Racing apparel which includes the VELO|Vets logo on the back panel of the shirt. Both R5-PARA Racing and VELO|Vets have a shared mission and a shared fight. VELO|Vets is a nonprofit organization located here in Tucson which serves blind and visually-impaired military veterans at the local VA hospital. The VV volunteers meet each Tuesday night and lead a training ride on tandem bicycles with many of the blind and visually-impaired veterans who are participating in the vA blind rehabilitation program. I can personally attest to the overwhelming benefit that riding a bicycle has had in my life as a healthy copping mechanism in the fight against Stargardts disease, vision loss and disability.

Stephen and I climbed Mt Lemmon today up to Windy Point, the half way point on the Mt Lemmon Climb. It was our first time climbing that far on Mt Lemmon together on the road machine. Stephen has climbed Mt Lemmon many times so the insanely fast descent was business as usual for him. The only difference today was, a 180lb dude on the back of a longer bicycle:)

The 2017 R5-PARA Racing Custom Apparel by OwnWay Apparel-boulder, CO.

R5-PARA Racing with stephen Pedone at the helm
2017 Arizona City Cotton Classic

2017 Para-Cycling Road National Championships with my R5-PARA Racing teammate Stephen Pedone
Road Race Silver medal
I began racing in the U.S. Paralympic Cycling Division in 2017 and I must admit the Grand Junction road race and time-trial courses were by far the most challenging I have raced. The overall conditions made for a very tough weekend of racing.
The time-trial course had several challenging climbs and the wind was most certainly a factor. Stephen and I fought hard though to pace ourselves well and not blow up.
With the very strong team of Paul and Aaron starting 60seconds behind us we did not want them to pass us. We hammered the outbound leg and when we hit the turnaround Stephen communicated to me that he could see the team of aaron and Paul approaching the turnaround as we exited to begin our inbound leg.
Although Paul and Aaron put-in time on us during the outbound leg, Stephen and I maintained our position and fought hard to prevent them from passing us.
Paul and Aaron still took the top spot that day and Stephen and I congratulate them on their National Championship in the road time-trial
Back to the road race course--
The road race course was by far the most difficult course I have raced. wThe duration and distance was approximately the same as seasons past but with over 4.3k feet of climbing across the 50mile race, the course definitely ripped our legs off.
Was it windy?
During the first lap, we all hammered down a relatively fast descent between 45-50mph and as stephen and I descended on the first lap the wind nearly swept our front wheel out from under us.
I have never used as much upper-body strength when racing a tandem as I did during our road race in grand Junction.
Although Stephen and I had nothing for Paul and Aaron that day, we still had to fight hard to fend off the team of Daniel and DJ. They gapped us during the second lap and Stephen and I had to fight hard down the fast backside descent to bridge up to them.
Stephen and I had the 58:11 spun out trying to bridge back to them and we caught them just as we started into the first big climb after the fast descent. As we approached, Stephen gave me the signal that we were about to attack Daniel and DJ on the climb to break away from them.
We did a standing acceleration and pulled away to powering on for a second place finish in the road race.
At the race's end I was absolutely destroyed. That road race course was by far the hardest I've raced yet bt stphen and I worked through it well to bring him ea silver medal.

2017 Arizona City Cotton Classic 40k Time-trial
R5-PARA Racing with teammate Stephen Pedone and Velo|Vets
It was great to see a VELO|Vets contingent out today at the Cotton Classic TT.

It was such a privilege traveling to Grand Junction, CO for 2017 Para-Cycling Road National Championships with my teammate stephen Pedone and also the team of Griffin Pinkow and Brandon Russel. Pictured here, Griff and I are at Bike Outfitters in Gran Junction, CO. R5-PARA Racing and the Foreseeable Future foundation can't thank everyone enough, at Bicycle Outfitters for all the mission support while in grand Junction for Road Nationals. The mechanics worked very hard to get brandon and Griff's road tandem battle ready so they could drop the hammer in the time-trial and road race. We all want to sincerely thank the owner at Bicycle Outfitters for such wonderful hospitality.

2017 Tennessee Para-Cycling Open
Teammate: Stephen Pedone
For Stephen and I, we approached the TPO with the same execution and strategy that we would a National Championship or even a World Cup or World Championship.
Our thought was, if we can't execute at a regional event then how will we execute our plan at a National or International event.
So, Saturday morning we left the start line outbound for our 20k time-trial and really focused on pacing, leg speed through the rollers and staying as aero as possible.
For me, one thing I didn't have to focus on was an eye disease that threatens my wellness each and every day.
When we are on the bike, Stargardts Disease isn't even a thought.
Our next major event this season is the 2017 U.S. Paralympic Time-trial in Keenesburg, CO June 17.
The June 17 Tt will serve as the selection event for 2017 UCI Para-Cycling Road Woeld Championships.
Stephen and I are training hard with hopes to represent Team USA in South Africa later this season at Road Worlds.
Also later this season on the UCI Para-Cycling calendar is Road World Cup #3 in the Netherlands.
R5-PARA Racing submitted a discretionary application for WC#3 so maybe, just maybe, we will have the opportunity to represent Team USA for the last WC this season before teams head to South Africa for Road Worlds.

2017 Tennessee Para-Cycling Open
Teammate: Stephen Pedone
Mens' Tandem Road Race: Staging
It was such a privilege to race with the very strong teams of Bryant, Kevin, Fausto, and DJ for the 2017 TPO.
We all raced across 3 different disciplines in Time-Trial, Criterium and Road Race.

The 2017 Para-Cycling Time-Trial UCI Road Worlds Championship Selection Event
R5-PARA Racing with Stephen Pedone at the helm.
Stephen and I hammered out a 33k time-trial today in Keenesburg, CO in an attempt to qualify for the 2017 UCI Road World's team.
Team USA will be announced early Thursday morning so Stephen and I are both excited to discover if we will have the privilege to represent our country later this season in South Africa.

This photo is especially telling because it is difficult to drive a tandem through a 180 degree turn so when Stephen and I approached the 180 I came out of the aerobars and prepared to maneuver the bike around the turn, stand, and accelerate the road machine back up to speed for the inbound mission.
I have a ton of respect for the tandem Drivers who have to turn such a long bike with two riders, through a 180 degree narrow turn, coming into the turn at approximately 30mph. An approximate speed but we definitely approached the turnaround with a lot of momentum that we had to slow and then accelerate back up to speed.

Great first training ride on the DuraTec today with Paul Harold from Epoch Performance Therapy Racing.
A very sincere thank you to Challenged Athletes Foundation for replacing my damaged and retired road frame, which saw an amazing amount of training and racing over the last 4 or 5 seasons.
Thanks to CAF and to Paul Harold for keeping blind and visually-impaired Military Veterans like myself, in the fight and successfully defeating Stargardts Disease, vision loss and disability through training and racing the tandem bicycle.

Two incredible people and tandem drivers who have invested so much in the the growth of the para-cycling and para-triathlon movement and to the lives of blind and visually-impaired athletes like myself. today was such a wonderful day on and off the bike spent with great people.

Training ride with James spencer and caroline gainer. this was our first ride, James and I and I can't thank James enough for driving tandem with me today. For only our first ride James drove a solid ride today with no hitch at all. He is such an invaluable resource to the blind and visually-impaired community, as well as Caroline gainer who will compete in an upcoming international competition as a Guide in the Para-triathlon division with another visually-impaired athlete.

El Tour de Tucson
Day 3 exiting dry riverbed heading to resupply point with Lynn
Teammate: John Jose

John Jose and I navigating our way through the dry riverbed during El Tour.
We shouldered the tandem for much of it and got it done!
We didn't let a visual impairment stop us. I followed my teammate through the dust and we continued on our way on the other side.

106mile route

The Independence Fund
Thank you to Podium MultiSport-NC for helping with assembly of the bike.

The Independence Fund

A very close simulation of what it's like looking through the eyes of a person with Stargardt's Disease. Cant' let a visual impairment deter us however from achieving the highest possible level of wellness and also achieving our training objectives that makes us ready come race day. also, a blind and visually-impaired bike racer does the bulk of his or her training using a stationary standard bicycle or indoor stationary bike so that we are prepared when the opportunity comes that we can train outside on the tandem bicycle, with our fully-sighted teammate.

United States Army Active Duty
3rd BN 18th FA

Loading a 155mm round

Railhead deploying to Ft Riley Kansas for FTX

It's always great to get outside for a training ride!
Thank you to LP and Streamline agency for making it possible.

The R5-PARA Racing training camp begins. Here in Tucson, AZ training with my teammate Stephen Pedone in preparation for the 2017 season with our first stop in Carson, CA for the U.S. Paralympics Track Cycling Open as we compete for the privilege to represent Team USA at the 2017 Para-Cycling Track World Championships in Carson, CA Jan 28-29.
All the equipment arrived with no damage.
Big thanks to Stephen for racing with me and to Ben and stephen both for letting me live with them so Stephen and I can train and sharpen our skills on the tandem.

Day 1 at the VELO Sports Center with my R5-PARA racing teammate, Stephen Pedone. In preparation for the 2017 U.S. Paralympics Track Cycling Open Jan 28-29 a 2017 UcI Para-Cycling Track World's selection event.
Our first day was challenging, as we sorted through several mechanical issues but Stephen and I negotiated the stress well together and successfully executed our training objective.

Only a few more training efforts for Stephen and I before we head to Carson, CA on Thursday in preparation for the U.S. Paralympics Track Cycling Open, a UCI Para-Cycling track World selection event. Stephen and I have put in some quality training efforts here in tucson and we are excited about the race. we will compete in the 4k individual pursuit and the 1k time-trial. Stephen and I are a new team for 2017 so we have reasonable expectations leading into the event and just want to have a strong ride on the track at the VELO Sports Center. I can't thank stephen enough for dedicating his time to training and racing with me. No matter the outcome, we fight eye disease, vision loss, and disability while also fighting for a National Championship and the privilege to represent Team USA in March at Track Worlds.

The track machine is ready for battle. R5-PARA Racing couldn't thank Radial Sports and fFWD wheels enough for the front and rear FFWD track disc. I haven't found too many wheel companies out there who support their wheels for tandem use but FFWD is one of them.

My R5-PARA Racing teammate, Stephen Pedone, and I could not thank Dave swanson enough for all the coaching, wrenching, and overall mission support last weekend during the 2017 U.S. Paralympics Track cycling Open. Dave raced in the U.S. Paralympic Cycling Division for nearly 10seasons with his teammate Clark across multiple UCI road and Track world Championships, World Cups and National Championships. Dave is a world champion and multiple National Champion as a tandem driver and so stephen and I were privileged to have him as a part of the R5-Para Racing team this past weekend. We hope to see Dave take on a more significant role on the Paralympic Cycling National team program. Stephen and I owe much to Dave for our success this past weekend.

Laurent "The agency Man" , owner at Streamline Agency and strong supporter of the R5-PARA Racing mission. Laurent is also a member of the Tandem Driver Corps.

Stephen and I climbed Mt Lemmon today up to Windy Point, the half way point on the Mt Lemmon Climb. It was our first time climbing that far on Mt Lemmon together on the road machine. Stephen has climbed Mt Lemmon many times so the insanely fast descent was business as usual for him. The only difference today was, a 180lb dude on the back of a longer bicycle:)

It requires a lot of work getting the road machine from point A to B bt the mission isn't always easy but the end result is worth it.

2017 Para-Cycling Road National Championships
R5-PARA Racing with teammate stephen Pedone
R5-PARA Racing earned a silver medal in the Road time-trial and road race.
It was a privilege to race with Paul Thomas and aaron Shades , who took the top spot in both events this season at Para-Cycling Road Nationals.
Aaron and Paul are a strong team and we look forward to hopefully competing with them again in Keensburg, CO June 17 in the U.s. Paralympic Cycling Time-trial, a Para-cycling Road World Championship selection event.
A sincere thank you to my teammate, Stephen Pedone, for dedicating his time and energy into racing the tandem with me.

RE-Cycle Tucson
Big thanks to James Webster for developing my new Stoker Tt position and for dialing-in the driver's position as well.

2017 Tennessee Para-Cycling Open
20k time-trial
R5-PARA Racing teammate: Stephen Pedone
The 2017 TPO was a great weekend of racing and I can't thank enough my teammate, Stephen Pedone, for traveling from Tucson for the event.
As a visually-impaired bike racer, I do the bulk of my training in the GTI (garage training institute) when I am not outside on the tandem bicycle with my teammates with whom I train and race. So, to have an event like the TPO is pretty awesome and a great opportunity to gain crucial racing experience that my teammate and I can take to National level and International level events.
For the tandem category specifically, it is difficult to find, if not impossible, road racing and CRIT racing experience. Although in Para-Cycling at the National and International level we don't race CRITs, I think a CRIT still offers similar enough TSS, IF and overall race tactics and strategy that tandem race teams can use to sharpen their skills in preparation for the big National and International events.
For Stephen and I, we have the Tokyo 2020 selection event on our radar so each and every training ride and race we do between now and then is important.
--Continue reading in the next photo--

2017 Tennessee Para-Cycling Open
Teammate: Stephen Pedone
Criterium
In Para-Cycling the tandem category which consists of the blind and visually-impaired stokers and their fully-sighted teammates or "Drivers" typically do not race CRITs in National Championship events or on the UCI international stage, although I would love to have such a race added to the calendar.
So, for the TPO to offer a tandem CRIT is really awesome. As a tandem race team, racing a CRIT, in my opinion, offers a great opportunity to develop extremely valuable cornering and overall handling skills that we might not otherwise have the opportunity to develop that we can then take to the National and International stages.
Often, the Stoker spends a ton of time inside on a stationary bike which doesn't give much opportunity for cornering the tandem, executing standing accelerations and communication methods between Driver and stoker.
The TPO is one of a kind in that it offers 3 Para-Cycling races across two days for all categories.
We all can not thank enough, Greg Miller, Karen Miller and all the volunteers who for 3 seasons now make the tennessee Para-Cycling Open a reality

2017 Rock Hill Bicycle Club 10 mile Time-Trial Series
R5-PARA Racing and EPT Racing putting down the hammer in riding to a PR
I know I write about this component of vision loss a lot, the emotional and psychological impact but it truly is such a battle, managing the Psycho-Socio-Emotio effects of eye disease, vision loss and disability.
This is why I always try my best to express how thankful I am each and every time I get outside on the tandem and enjoy a sport I am so passionate about, cycling.
I can spend sometimes weeks in my garage training and having that one training ride or race outside is enough to keep the flame of passion lighted for bike racing.
So, when a truly amazing person like Paul and so many teammates I train and race with climb aboard the tandem, it has more impact than they may know.

Accelerating the road machine back up to speed after the outbound mission.
We had a tailwind on the inbound mission so we knew we had to spin the gear as best we could and stay smooth on the pedals.
Stephen and I have to thank James Webster at Re-Cycle Tucson for working with us earlier this season and adapting a new aerobar position in the Stoker cockpit.
I had never ridden with a true set of aerobars until James took to the task of adapting my new position. Stephen and I both believe that position was crucial today in producing our 29.5mph AVG speed over 33k.
Unofficially, this places us 7th overall on the rankings list and puts us in a good spot for Team USA nomination but we will have to wait until Thursday to discover if a south Africa trip is in the future for Stephen and I in what could be our first Road World Championship event together.
No matter the outcome however, we keep fighting and enjoy the journey of racing bike, defeating vision loss, eye disease and disability.

2017 Charlotte Motor speedway Team Time-trial 20 mile
R5-PARA Racing with Paul Harold at the helm.
What a fun night of racing with Paul and several other EPT Racing team members. With a visual impairment I could never hammer down the backstretch at over 35mph with bikes all around and do it within a reasonable amount of safety.
I can't thank Paul enough for driving the tandem with me so that we could hold the hammer a, race bikes and defeat Stargardts Disease, vision loss and disability.
And having a ton of fun along the way!

2016 U.S. Paralympics Track Cycling Open

2016 Le Defi Sportif
Road Race
Montreal, QC

Teammate: Pete Billington
2012 World's Prep Camp (VELO Sports Center)

A wonderful group of friends and Tandem Drivers/Guides who support the Para-Cycling and Para-Triathlon movement.

2016 Tennessee Para-Cycling Open
Teammate: Kyle Knott

2016 Tennessee Para-cycling Open
Teammate: Kyle Knott

2016 Tennessee Para-Cycling Open
Teammate: Kyle Knott

My wife and I live about 30miles from James and Caroline. she drove the 60miles roundtrip to meet with us after our training ride, just so I could ride a bicycle with James Spencer. I couldn't defeat Stargardts disease without amazing friends and family. thank you to all three of you for such a positive experience.

Training ride with James and caroline today with NC vELO out of charlotte Nc
For our first training ride on the tandem James drove a really solid ride with not a single hitch.

El Tour de Tucson Day 1:
Saguaro National Park tune-up ride with teammate John Jose

El Tour de Tucson
Big thanks to VELO/Vets for the awesome cycling cap!

El Tour de Tucson
Day 1 Expo
Land speed record bike with massive gear

El Tour de Tucson
Day 3 departing the dry riverbed
Teammate: John Jose

El Tour de Tucson
Day 3 Post ride man hug 106miles
Teammate John Jose

2016 El Tour de Tucson
Teammate John Jose and I doing a bit of tandem CX during the 106mile El tour.
No matter a visual impairment, I followed my teammate through the dust and we emerged on the other side to continue on our way.

Calfee Road Tandem made possible by the Independence Fund
Thank you to Podium MultiSport-NC for helping with assembly of the bike.

The Independence Fund

The Independence Fund

Basic Training

R5-PARA Racing and The Agency Man (Streamline Agency)
Big thanks to LP for driving tandem with me yesterday.
As a visually-impaired bike racer, I do the bulk of my training inside so it was great to get outside yesterday on the tandem.
LP drove 2hrs roundtrip through the LKN i77 blackhole just to drive tandem with a visually-impaired dude like myself.
Incredible people!!

Since a track bicycle has a fixed-gear, direct-drive, design drivetrain each tandem team typically will reference a gear chart to determine which gear ratio best suits their training or racing objective. The "chainring" is in the front of the drivetrain and the "cog" is in the rear of the drivetrain. On the gear chart, the chainrings run vertical and the cogs run horizontal

The track tandem arrived here in Tucson with no damage:) All systems are a go, on the ground here in aZ for the R5-PARA Racing training camp in preparation for the 2017 U.S. Paralympics Track Cycling Open Jan 28-29 in Carson, cA at the VELO sports Center

The Velo|Vets cycling equipment, all received via donations from people from the Tucson community. The VELO|Vets volunteers meet every Tuesday night at the VA BRC (Blind Rehab Center) and drive tandem bicycles with the blind and visually-impaired Veterans who are participating in the blind rehab program at the Tucson BRC. it truly is amazing what these volunteers do and I can personally attest to how beneficial training on a tandem bicycle can be in the way of building a healthy lifestyle despite vision loss or disable its.

Saw this sunset while traveling through Phoenix on our way to Carson, CA bound for the VELO Sports Center. Although I am visually-impaired and can't operate a motor vehicle or race a standard bicycle we can't let that stop us. My teammate, Stephne and great friend Dave Swanson and I made the drive from Tucson to Carson to defeat eye disease, race bikes and live life and along the way, captured this beautiful sunset and moment in time along an amazing journey. Makes me thankful for the remaining vision I do have.

My teammate, Stephen Pedone, and I before our 4k Individual Pursuit at the 2017 U.S. Paralympics Track Cycling Open at the VELO Sports Center
Big thanks to BSG Apparel for such a Professional grade speed Suit and the R5-PARA Racing team uniform. Honestly, I have never raced in a speed suit of such high quality. I particularly like the Silver level fabric quality with exceptionally strong stitching. Also, the sleeve length is perfect so that the sleeves don't slide up when the rider is on the bike in race position. I also like the thumb hole at the sleeve's end. I also really like the leg gripper design which stays in place really well and the front zipper design makes it easy to remove your speed Suit in the event you need to use the rest room one last time before your race. The low collar is another feature I like in a Speed suit.

Thank you to my R5-PARA Racing teammate, Stephen Pedone, for executing a great 4k Individual Pursuit at the 2017 U.S. Paralympics Track Cycling Open with me over the weekend as we earned a National Championship. For stephen and I, it was only our 4th time on the track so we are very excited about the progress we hope to make in the coming months as we prepare for the 2017 season.

John, a member of the Tandem Driver Corps and strong supporter of the R5-PARA Racing mission, wearing the 2017R5-PARA colors by BSG Custom Apparel.

Streamline Agency and R5-PARA Racing working together at the Rock Hill Road Course, turning hot laps in preparation for the 2017 R5-PARA Racing Spring Training camp.

2017 Houston, TX training ride with Joseph Matta. Our tune-up ride making sure the tandem is ready for Hot Laps on the cRIT course at Memorial Park in Houston, TX. Big thanks to Joseph for dedicating his time to training on the tandem with me.

The 2017 R5-PARA Racing Spring Training Camp with Joseph Matta.

During the R5-PARA Racing Spring Training Camp with Joseph Matta, it was great to meet with Dana Dre from the Department of Veteran's Affairs, Blake Center from Rock Hill Parks and rec as well as Streamline Agency to discuss ideas about building a Para-Cycling training program at the Rock Hill Road Course. Really excited to see what we can do.

R5-PARA Racing

Stephen and I stopped at La Buzz this morning before we started our Mt Lemmon climb in Tucson, AZ. if you are a cyclist and you come to Tucson, you have to visit La Buzz at least once.

R5-PARA Racing with Stephen Pedone at the helm for the
Arizona City Cotton Classic 40k Time-trial
What a challenging morning in deed. Stephen and I have been training pretty solid now for the last 4days or so in preparation for 2017 Para-Cycling Road National Championships next weekend in Grand Junction, CO.
This morning headed over to Arizona City, a very small town between Tucson and Phoenix, for the Arizona City Cotton Classic 20k and 40k time-trial.
In just about every domain of life things don't always go the way you plan and this morning was no exception.
Stephen and I registered for the 20k and 40k as well, planning to use the 20k as a warmup for the 40k effort. As we were heading over to the start line we noticed our disc was flat so we had to switch wheels. Fortunately, we had a spare wheel to race on.
An unexpected event like this can really test a tandem team but stephen and I managed the stress well, switched the wheels out and headed back to the start line.
Unfortunately, we missed our opportunity for a proper warmup so we left the start line for the outbound leg of our 40k time-trial.

2017 Para-Cycling Road National Championships with teammate Stephen Pedone
R5-PARA Racing earned a silver medal in the road time-trial
I have been racing tandem since 2010 and I must admit the Grand Junction road and time-trial course and conditions were some of the most challenging I have encountered yet. I definitely underestimated the temperature when packing for my trip out west to Road Nationals. Stephen and I staged our training out of his home in Tucson in preparation for Road Nationals. It was very easy to leave the cold weather gear at home, considering the warm weather in Tucson.
Stephen and I adapted to the temperature however and took to the start line on Friday for our outbound leg of the road time-trial course.
it was only our second road time-trial together and my second time-trial in my newly adapted TT position and both Stephen and I were very pleased with the results.
Thank you to James Webster at re-Cycle Tucson for developing the TT position.
Although the very strong team of Paul Thomas and Aaron Shades took the top spot, Stephen and I were very pleased with our performance and that we held them off and prevented a pass by Paul and Aaron.
Paul and Aaron are a very fast team and with them starting 60 seconds behind us we fought hard to keep them from passing us.
Congratulations to Paul and Aaron for their 1st place finish.

So amazing to see the new trailer that was donated to VELO|Vets so now VV can more efficiently transport the cycling equipment used for training and racing.
The VELO|Vets volunteers train and race on tandem bicycles each week with blind and visually-impaired Veterans at the tucson, AZ VA blind rehabilitation center. I personally had the privilege to attend a training ride and also speak to a group of BVI Veterans (blind and or visually-impaired) during a recent training block with my teammate, Stephen Pedone.
I can't express enough the impact an activity like riding a bicycle can have in the life of a BVI person like myself and the Veteran's that Velo|Vets work with each week.
Thank you to all the volunteers and donors who work to make this possible.

R5-PARA Racing joined by Paul Harold of EPT Racing.
Charlotte Motor Speedway Time-trial Series
Race#2 with Epoch Universal and streamline Agency
I write about this aspect of my training and racing a lot, that I am a visually-impaired bike racer. I have to write about that component though because just looking at a photo doesn't come close to telling the story or describing how much work it takes just getting to the start line.
I like to write about the journey though, primarily to thank so many people who make it all possible.
Both on the bike and off the bike, whether it's my fully-sighted teammate or the family and friends who provide mission support, I could never do this without all of you.
The photo doesn't tell the story though. It is the perfect snapshot of team getting the work done, racing a tandem and building and maintaining a healthy lifestyle, despite vision loss, eye disease and disability.
The photo doesn't capture it all.
On this day for example, my teammate for the event, Paul Harold, and his family drove from the south side of CLT bound for Charlotte Motor Speedway and the 10 mile Tt.
Earlier that morning, my wife drove my van with all my equipment including the tandem to work which is located in a central spot which makes it easy to meet Paul and his family.
So, later in the day I took an Uber from north of CLT and met Paul in the middle. His son, Taylor, then jumped in the van with me and away we went, bound for CMS to race a tandem bicycle.
after the race, my wife took an Uber from her work to the restaurant where R5-PARA Racing and EPT Racing joined for post ride food and drinks
All of this made that photo possible. It may seem easy but it has taken many seasons for me to develop a logistics plan that gets me to the start line or to any given training ride and without so many friends and family, it would not be possible.
I only wish to convey a message here that if life finds a way to gut punch you and put barriers in your way, just find a way to knock them down and adapt to your circumstances so you can still live life to the fullest.
there will be so many days that will most likely be the worst and very challenging and you will likely want to quit, shut the door on the training model, the racing and just give up.
You can't quit though, just keep fighting and work through the hard days and eventually, you will find yourself in the right moment when you get to take a photo like this one.
I can't thank Paul, Laurent and so many others for making this possible and keeping me in the fight.
R5-PARA racing and EPT Racing with Streamline Agency --->Rule#1 There can be no victory, if you quit!

2017 Tennessee Para-Cycling Open
Teammate: Stephen Pedone
Road Race
Although Stephen and I had a "Tech Failure" because I didn't properly mount the 360Fly camera during the Road race, we were both still satisfied with our overall effort as we worked hard to bridge back to the two lead tandems.
Pictured is Stephen and I racing in the 2016 edition, R5-PARA Racing team uniform.
We are excited to be working with Ownway Apparel for the 2017 R5-PARA Racing team uniform.
With 3 races in two days we just ran out of 2017 clothing:)

During our warmup, Stephen and I discussed our strategy for how to ride the 33k time-trial we were about to tackle. We had a windy outbound leg so we attacked it with more power and after we hit the turnaround, we spun the gear as fast as possible, utilizing the tailwind and allowing it to push us home.
I was quite surprised however because the inbound mission, even with the tailwind, was still pretty hard and at about the 4k marker I was deep in the hurt locker but I heard stephen yelling "South Africa" as a reminder for what we were fighting.

Charlotte Motor Speedway Time-Trial series Race#3
R5-PARA Racing and EPT Racing in a shared mission and a shared fight against eye disease, vision loss and disability!
building and maintaining a healthy lifestyle despite difficult circumstances!

Met some really cool people today at NCVelo . Joe was definitely among them and may even train on the track machine with me.
Can't thank Caroline and James enough for the courage to introduce para-cycling and what the BVI tandem is all about.

Met some really great people today at NC VELO in charlotte, Nc with James Spencer and caroline Gainer. such a wonderful day!

El Tour de Tucson
Day 2 Saguaro National Park tune-up ride
don't have cactus in North Carolina
Teammate: John Jose

El Tour de Tucson
Day 3 Todd Key muscling through the dry riverbed
The man's a beast!

106mile route

Calfee Road Tandem made possible by the Independence Fund
Thank you to Bob Johnson at Podium MultiSport for helping with assembly of the bike.

Thank you Independence Fund

First R5-PARA Racing training ride on the new Carbon Calfee Road Racing tandem today, made possible by Laurent, owner at Streamline Agency, and also great friend of R5-PARA Racing and the Podium MultiSport-NC family. Laurent had never driven tandem before and he took to it like a pro, navigating some rather technical "slow roll" traffic situations but most importantly, Laurent and I took the road machine for it's first training ride, we worked together like a well-oiled machine, shared several laughs along the way and defeated vision loss all inside about 50miles. Each and every time the experience is as positive, it's a victory. Thank you to Streamline agency, Podium MultiSport-NC and Laurent for keeping the Paralympic dream alive.
Most importantly, thank you to The Independence fund for making such an amazing machine possible, as it serves as a mechanism for defeating eye disease, vision loss and disability.

FTX

Battle Buddy

R5-PARA Racing and Streamline Agency

The VELO sports Center (Carson, CA)

Training ride with James and Caroline

Everything came out of the case with no damage, which is always a good thing:)
A very sincere thank you to The Independence Fund for the Carbon Calfee Road Racing tandem.
I am excited to be here in Tucson, AZ with my new teammate stephen Pedone for the R5-PARA Racing training camp in preparation for the 2017 U.S. Paralympics Track Cycling Open Jan 28-29 in Carson, cA at the VELO Sports Center as we all compete for the privilege to represent Team USA March 2-5 at the UCI Para-Cycling Track World Championships in Carson, cA.
The Track tandem arrives today but stephen and I will also do much of our training on the road machine.

Big thanks to everyone at RBar Energy (Tucson, AZ) for supplying Stephen and I with RBar nutrition for the R5-PARA Racing training camp, in preparation for the 2017 U.S. Paralympics Track Cycling Open Jan 28-29. A 2017 UCI Para-Cycling Track World's selection event. Today was day 1 at the VELO Sports Center for Stephen and I and it was a very challenging day, as we initially sorted through our gear selection and bike position. It was great to have the RBar Nutrition with us today at the vELO sports Center so we could successfully achieve our training objective.
Visit the RBar website and discover why RBar stands apart from the rest.
https://www.rbarenergy.com
Their mission:
We make RBars for people who aren't satisfied with following the crowd. The people who pursue the freedom of the outdoors, the wide open spaces of experience, and the adventure of travel. At RBar, we believe everyone has that spirit inside of them.

Here in Tucson, AZ for the R5-PARA Racing training camp with teammate Stephen Pedone. Stephen and I had the privilege to have Dave Swanson coach us through a standing start training session here in Tucson. if you can't access a velodrome then taking the track machine out to a empty section of road is the next best thing. it was a great opportunity for Stephen and I to practice starts, which is the most technical component of our two events on the track next weekend at the VELO Sports Center in Carson, cA as we compete for a National Championship and also the privilege to represent Team USa at UCI Track Worlds in March.

The van is loaded and ready for our trip to Carson, CA and the VELO sports Center in preparation for the 2017 U.S. Paralympics Track Cycling Open, a 2017 Para-Cycling Track World Championships selection event. My teammate, Stephne Pedone, and I could not thank Dave Swanson enough for all the mission support! To race a tandem bicycle with a visually-impaired teammate, it truly takes a lot of team work.

My R5-PARA Racing teammate, Stephen Pedone, and I after our 4k Individual Pursuit at the 2017 U.s. Paralympics Track Cycling Open in Carson, ca at the VELO Sports Center. we won a National Championship in the 4k Individual Pursuit

My R5-PARA Racing teammate, stephen Pedone, and I during warmup at the 2017 U.S. Paralympics Track Cycling Open in at the VELO Sports Center.
Big thanks to BSG Custom Apparel for such a Professional grade Speed Suit and to the Independence Fund for the Calfee Road tandem that stephen and I will do battle on later this season once we transition into road season. The calf was instrumental to our training here in Tucson leading up to the track event in Carson.

The Agency Man, Streamline Agency, hammering laps with Joseph Matta and I at the Rock Hill Road Course

R5-PARA Racing with Joseph Matta at the helm hammering out a 10 mile time-trial with the Rock Hill Bicycle Club

The 2017 R5-PARA Racing Spring Training Camp finished up with a 10 mile time-trial in Rock Hill with the Rock Hill Bicycle Club.

U.S. Paralympic Cycling

Received my first order, R5-PARA Racing polo shirt by OwnWay Custom Apparel. I had the privilege and honor to wear it yesterday when traveling form Charlotte to Tucson. I am here in Tucson training with my teammate, Stephen Pedone-AZ in preparation for 2017 Para-Cycling Road National Championships in Grand Junction, CO. April 28/29. it is such a privilege to wear the R5-PARA Racing apparel which includes the VELO|Vets logo on the back panel of the shirt. Both R5-PARA Racing and VELO|Vets have a shared mission and a shared fight. VELO|Vets is a nonprofit organization located here in Tucson which serves blind and visually-impaired military veterans at the local VA hospital. The VV volunteers meet each Tuesday night and lead a training ride on tandem bicycles with many of the blind and visually-impaired veterans who are participating in the vA blind rehabilitation program. I can personally attest to the overwhelming benefit that riding a bicycle has had in my life as a healthy copping mechanism in the fight against Stargardts disease, vision loss and disability.

I hate that Stephen and I could not find someone to take the photo for us to get the full visual effect that it required two of us to climb the road machine up to over 5k feet to Windy Point, about the half way point on the Mt Lemmon climb. During our climb up to windy Point, our coach had an interval set for us so we knocked that down and then kept the pedals turning a bit longer for bonus miles. Along the climb, I think I actually let out a battle cry of sorts because as a bike racer with a visual impairment who does the bulk of my training in the GTI (Garage Training Institute) back home, I get like a unleaded animal today who is so often caged. I gave Stephen a friendly jab to the kidney as a way to thank him for driving the road machine with a BVI dude like myself. Stephen could very well have been racing the UCI Tour of the Gila this week over in New Mexico but instead, he is racing with R5-PARA Racing as we pursue our goal of the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games. I can't skip over the descent though, back down Mt Lemmon. I have a genetic eye disease known as stargardts Disease that causes a loss of central vision so there is no way I could descend a bicycle the way we did today on the tandem. I can't thank The Independence Fund enough for providing such amazing mission support with the Calfee road tandem. Today we hit a top speed of 51mph and averaged 40mph for 20min as we descended back down the mountain. It was so awesome to hit the turns at speed, lean the bike and follow my teammate down the the mountain. All those days of sitting in the GTI, suffering through my workouts alone while watching Pro Cycling on YouTube, all that becomes worth it in just one ride outside on the tandem Also, today while climbing I heard Giuliana from VELO|Vets screen my name while she was on her descent going the other direction We caught up with her at the bottom and it was great to see the VELO|Vets uniform in action on the bike. Just an amazing day made possible by Stephen Pedone and Giuliana. Today we took to the mountain on the road machine and achieved our training objectives and kick stargardts in the face! Rule#1 There can be no victory, if you quit!

R5-PARA Racing with Stephen Pedone at the helm for the
2017 Arizona City Cotton Classic 40k TT
--cont'd--
The previous night, Stephen and I hauled the road machine over to see James Webster at Re-Cycle Tucson, Bike Shop, for a bike fit. James setup a proper time-trial position in the stoker cockpit and also transferred Stephen's TT position from his solo Tt bike over to the tandem.
Stephen and I noticed, last month at UCI Para-Cycling Track World Championship , that many of the top stokers across the UCI stage have adapted some variation of a proper Tt position and so James went to work.
Today was my first TT in the new position but I really like it. It definitley feels more aero and the feedback we received was that it looks more aero as well, as compared to my old position of traditional drop bars.
the 40k was by far the longest Tt I've done in a while but overall, the new position was great and I never felt like I couldn't make power.
For Stephen and I, the 40k was a great test run in preparation for Road Nationals next weekend.
It was also great to see several great friends out racing bikes today. VELO|Vets had a strong contingent of racers today.
The after action review here is this--At times, plans don't always unfold the way you expect and so it's the way you choose to manage the setback that defines the day. Today, my R5-PARA Racing teammate and I worked well together and made it form the start line to the finish line.

Velo|Vets and R5-PARA Racing with teammate Stephen Pedone getting it done at the 2017 Arizona City Cotton Classic 40k and 20k Time-trial

2017 Tennessee Para-Cycling Open
Teammate: Stephen Pedone
For Stephen and I, we approached the TPO with the same execution and strategy that we would a National Championship or even a World Cup or World Championship.
Our thought was, if we can't execute at a regional event then how will we execute our plan at a National or International event.
So, Saturday morning we left the start line outbound for our 20k time-trial and really focused on pacing, leg speed through the rollers and staying as aero as possible.
For me, one thing I didn't have to focus on was an eye disease that threatens my wellness each and every day.
When we are on the bike, Stargardts Disease isn't even a thought.
Our next major event this season is the 2017 U.S. Paralympic Time-trial in Keenesburg, CO June 17.
The June 17 Tt will serve as the selection event for 2017 UCI Para-Cycling Road Woeld Championships.
Stephen and I are training hard with hopes to represent Team USA in South Africa later this season at Road Worlds.
Also later this season on the UCI Para-Cycling calendar is Road World Cup #3 in the Netherlands.
R5-PARA Racing submitted a discretionary application for WC#3 so maybe, just maybe, we will have the opportunity to represent Team USA for the last WC this season before teams head to South Africa for Road Worlds.

2017 Tennessee Para-Cycling Open
Teammate: Stephen Pedone
Mens' Tandem Road Race: Staging
It was such a privilege to race with the very strong teams of Bryant, Kevin, Fausto, and DJ for the 2017 TPO.
We all raced across 3 different disciplines in Time-Trial, Criterium and Road Race.

at about the 4k marker, just beyond a little S-bend, that is when I began hearing stephen yelling "South Africa" since that is where World will take place in August. At this point during or 42min Tt I was coming apart and suffering deep into the hurt locker but I dug deeper than I have in a long while and I know Stephen did as well because once we crossed the finish line we were both wrecked.

Great first training ride on the DuraTec today with Paul Harold from Epoch Performance Therapy Racing.
A very sincere thank you to Challenged Athletes Foundation for replacing my damaged and retired road frame, which saw an amazing amount of training and racing over the last 4 or 5 seasons.
Thanks to CAF and to Paul Harold for keeping blind and visually-impaired Military Veterans like myself, in the fight and successfully defeating Stargardts Disease, vision loss and disability through training and racing the tandem bicycle.

2017 CCA Reginal Track Champs preparation with PARA~Gide, Paul Harold and Shannon Houlihan at Giordana Velodrome
Always great to chat with Bob Nixon when at Giordana velodrome. Bob is the kindest person you will ever meet:)

2016 U.s. Paralympics Track Cycling Open

2016 U.S. Paralympics Track Cycling Open

2016 Para-Cycling Road National Championships
Teammate: Kyle Knott

Teammate: Pete Billington
2011 Para-Cycling National Championships

Expo

2016 Tennessee Para-cycling Open
Teammate: Kyle Knott

2016 Tennessee Para-cycling Open
Teammate Kyle Knott

2016 USABA Tandem Cycling Race Camp
Teammate: John Jose

3 friends, two bikes and 1 very important mission!

These incredible people make the impossible possible.

El Tour de Tucson Trip
Day 1: Windy Point on Mt Lemmon
Teammate: John Jose

El Tour de Tucson
Day 4 Dinner with great friends

El Tour de Tucson
Teammate: John Jose

El Tour de Tucson
Day 3 departing the dry riverbed
Teammate: John Jose

El Tour de Tucson
The finish 106miles brutal
Teammate: John Jose

El Tour de tucson 2016

2016 Que Sheet

The Independence Fund

The Independence Fund
Thank you to Bob Johnson at Podium MultiSport-NC for helping with assembly of the new Calfee Road Tandem made possible by the Independence Fund

A photo taken from behind the eye of a person with stargardt's Disease. I have seen similar pictures of my own eyes. Can't let this block the training objectives or block achieving the highest possible level of wellness. Just keep fighting!

A privilege to roll my first Shootout with teammate Stephen Pedone, here in Tucson, AZ at the R5-PARA Racing training camp. In preparation for the 2017 U.S. Paralympics Track Cycling Open Jan 28-29 as we compete for the privilege to represent Team USA at UCI Para-Cycling Track World Championships March 2-5 at the VELO Sports Center in Carson, CA.
The Shootout was one of the hardest training rides I've done and with a mixture of professional cyclists, Triathletes, and Collegiate riders, it was a great first test for stephen and I on the tandem. In only our third ride we rode well together and it was an awesome privilege as a visually-impaired athlete to hammer down with such a high caliber group of cyclists.

VELO|Vets cycling equipment loaded and ready for a training session at the VA BRC (Blind Rehab Center) in Tucson, AZ Fully-sighted volunteers meet every Tuesday at the tucson VA BRc and drive tandems with blind and visually-impaired Veterans, all the while, fighting vision loss and disability. Building a healthy lifestyle, one pedal stroke at a time!

We arrived at the VELO sports Center with no issues. Dave and stephen giving it a go on the tandem. Driver Driver!

Silver medal in the 1k time-trial for my R5-PARA Racing teammate, Stephen Pedone, and I during the 2017 U.s. Paralympics Track Cycling Open. Nice ride by the Gold Medal team of Tanner and Jack. They are a strong KILO team and it was great to see them have a solid ride and win the National title in the KILO. Nice work Gentlemen.

LP and I turning Hot Laps at the Rock Hill Road Course in preparation for the 2017 r5-PARA Racing Spring Training Camp.

Joseph Matta and I preparing for a 50mile training ride out of Chapel Hill, TX.

The 2017 R5-PARA Racing Spring Training Camp wit Joseph Matta. The last day of our camp we hammered out a 10mile time-trial with the Rock Hill Bicycle Club.

The 2017 R5-PARA Racing Spring Training Camp with Joseph Matta finished up with a 10mile road time-trial with the Rock Hill Bicycle Club and a 4k Individual Pursuit followed by 1k Time-trial at the Giordana Velodrome. Joseph and I had absolutely nothing left at the day's end.

It's a privilege and honor to represent R5-PARA Racing and VELO|Vets with my first edition Custom Polo by BSG Custom Apparel I'm in route to a 2017 Para-Cycling Road National Championships preparation camp in Tucson, AZ with my teammate Stephen Pedone.

The 2017 R5-PARA Racing Custom Apparel by OwnWay Apparel-boulder, CO.

R5-PARA Racing with stephen Pedone at the helm
2017 Arizona City Cotton Classic

2017 Para-Cycling Road National Championships with my R5-PARA Racing teammate Stephen Pedone
Road Race Silver medal
I began racing in the U.S. Paralympic Cycling Division in 2017 and I must admit the Grand Junction road race and time-trial courses were by far the most challenging I have raced. The overall conditions made for a very tough weekend of racing.
The time-trial course had several challenging climbs and the wind was most certainly a factor. Stephen and I fought hard though to pace ourselves well and not blow up.
With the very strong team of Paul and Aaron starting 60seconds behind us we did not want them to pass us. We hammered the outbound leg and when we hit the turnaround Stephen communicated to me that he could see the team of aaron and Paul approaching the turnaround as we exited to begin our inbound leg.
Although Paul and Aaron put-in time on us during the outbound leg, Stephen and I maintained our position and fought hard to prevent them from passing us.
Paul and Aaron still took the top spot that day and Stephen and I congratulate them on their National Championship in the road time-trial
Back to the road race course--
The road race course was by far the most difficult course I have raced. wThe duration and distance was approximately the same as seasons past but with over 4.3k feet of climbing across the 50mile race, the course definitely ripped our legs off.
Was it windy?
During the first lap, we all hammered down a relatively fast descent between 45-50mph and as stephen and I descended on the first lap the wind nearly swept our front wheel out from under us.
I have never used as much upper-body strength when racing a tandem as I did during our road race in grand Junction.
Although Stephen and I had nothing for Paul and Aaron that day, we still had to fight hard to fend off the team of Daniel and DJ. They gapped us during the second lap and Stephen and I had to fight hard down the fast backside descent to bridge up to them.
Stephen and I had the 58:11 spun out trying to bridge back to them and we caught them just as we started into the first big climb after the fast descent. As we approached, Stephen gave me the signal that we were about to attack Daniel and DJ on the climb to break away from them.
We did a standing acceleration and pulled away to powering on for a second place finish in the road race.
At the race's end I was absolutely destroyed. That road race course was by far the hardest I've raced yet bt stphen and I worked through it well to bring him ea silver medal.

2017 Arizona City Cotton Classic 40k Time-trial
R5-PARA Racing with teammate Stephen Pedone and Velo|Vets
It was great to see a VELO|Vets contingent out today at the Cotton Classic TT.

It was such a privilege traveling to Grand Junction, CO for 2017 Para-Cycling Road National Championships with my teammate stephen Pedone and also the team of Griffin Pinkow and Brandon Russel. Pictured here, Griff and I are at Bike Outfitters in Gran Junction, CO. R5-PARA Racing and the Foreseeable Future foundation can't thank everyone enough, at Bicycle Outfitters for all the mission support while in grand Junction for Road Nationals. The mechanics worked very hard to get brandon and Griff's road tandem battle ready so they could drop the hammer in the time-trial and road race. We all want to sincerely thank the owner at Bicycle Outfitters for such wonderful hospitality.

The 2017 Para-Cycling Time-Trial UCI Road Worlds Championship Selection Event
R5-PARA Racing with Stephen Pedone at the helm.
Stephen and I hammered out a 33k time-trial today in Keenesburg, CO in an attempt to qualify for the 2017 UCI Road World's team.
Team USA will be announced early Thursday morning so Stephen and I are both excited to discover if we will have the privilege to represent our country later this season in South Africa.

This photo is especially telling because it is difficult to drive a tandem through a 180 degree turn so when Stephen and I approached the 180 I came out of the aerobars and prepared to maneuver the bike around the turn, stand, and accelerate the road machine back up to speed for the inbound mission.
I have a ton of respect for the tandem Drivers who have to turn such a long bike with two riders, through a 180 degree narrow turn, coming into the turn at approximately 30mph. An approximate speed but we definitely approached the turnaround with a lot of momentum that we had to slow and then accelerate back up to speed.

So awesome to see Jamie Crowell a totally blind cyclist compete in the charlotte Motor Speedway 10 Mile Time-trial presented by Start2finish-Charlotte.
Thanks to PARA~Guide for plotting a transit solution and providing transportation services to and from the event for both Jamie and I.
It's nights of racing bikes such as this that make winning the war on Stargardts Disease, vision loss and disability, a whole lot easier!

What is R5-PARA Racing?

R5-PARa Racing is an elite level Para-Cycling tandem race team.

The team is built around, Chester Triplett, the "Stoker" a visually-impaired Army Veteran and the "Driver" the fully-sighted teammate who sits in front on the tandem bicycle and is responsible for all braking, shifting and steering.

R5-PARa competes in the U.S. Paralympic Cycling Division and has represented Team USA in three UCI Para-track Cycling World Championships.

The race team also competes in many local, regional and National level competitions as well as international level competitions.

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Who is R5-PARA Racing?

R5-PARa Racing is Chester Triplett, a 37 year old visually-impaired Army Veteran and the Tandem Driver Core . Chester is the "stoker", the rider in rear of tandem and the "driver" is the rider in front of tandem bicycle. The driver is also known as "pilot".

It is not uncommon for a bVI (Blind or visually-Impaired) stoker to train and race with multiple Drivers throughout each season.

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What are the R5-PARA Rules of racing?

Rule#1 Never quit. There can be no victory, if you quit.

Rule#2 Focus on the Journey. Not Results. Even on your best day, your competitor may have a better day.

Rule#3 Fight and adapt. When life finds a way to knock you down, find a way to fight back and adapt to your new circumstances.

Rule#4 Recovery is not an option. Take a nap. Training and racing punishes the body. so if you want to get faster you have to rest, eat right and take care of your body and mind.

Rule#5 It takes a village. Build a strong support structure of friends, family, and sponsors who believe in your mission. No matter how self-driven you are, you can't achieve mission success, on your own.

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What is the meaning of PARA?

PARA means side-by-side or standing along side our fellow able-bodied competitors as we all pursue the highest level of performance and the privilege to represent Team USA on the national and international stage.

The R5-PARA mission also includes, defeating eye disease and vision loss through training and racing the tandem bicycle. To achieve the highest possible level of wellness despite eye disease and disability and triumph in the face of adversity.

To serve as a symbol of resilience through proper nutrition, training and the teamwork required, getting the tandem form the start line to the finish line.

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How can I help R5-PARA?

For the moment, the most straight forward way to help is through financial support. Cycling is an expensive sport, mainly because of the travel to events. All of the support you can manage helps. We are working on our program with some creative ways to contribute, however for the moment contact Chester to discuss.